Sewing Karma

Well, here it is. Vogue 8615. It's my own fault it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. My own indolent actions determined the fate of this dress. I reverted to some old shady sewing habits. I was doing really well the past few projects, not cutting any corners. I thought I could slide by on few things here and there... I think we all know how that turns out.

Mistake number one was not making a muslin. I had just finished with my dumb luck perfect fit shirtdress so I figured why make a muslin? (pure laziness). Mistake number two was my fabric choice. The pattern envelope lists shantung as a recommended fabric and I assumed dupioni would be pretty much the same thing. I've read now that shantung is lighter, softer and has more drape than dupioni. My fabric is extremely crisp and it doesn't drape well at all (excuse the wrinkles-- I had enough of the dress to iron it). I does weird things on the skirt and sleeves.

To be fair, my sewing started off well. I was okay until I got to the sleeves. There was a huge amount of ease. I actually read that on another review, too. Mistake number three was not taking out some of that ease. I just sort of gathered the sleeve head and let it be a little puffy (again- laziness). It contributes to the the feeling that I'm wearing a little girl's dress and looks sloppy.


Also contributing the the little girl's dress feeling is the fact that it is a slightly too big. I think it could stand to be tighter everywhere except the shoulders. One of the things that drew me to this silhouette was the little nipped in waist contrasted by the full skirt. Both Gertie and Rachel achieved it and it looks fabulous on both of them. I'm pulling it behind me in the above photo but if you look at the last photo you can see what I mean. There isn't a big difference at the waist.
After I finished the bodice and sewed up the skirt and I already knew I wasn't going to like it. By the time I put everything together I lost all enthusiasm for it. In fact, I did such a crappy job that my seam lines don't match up (really-- look closely). Extremely sorry sewing, my friends. I didn't notice until taking pictures.
On the positive side, however, I love my handpicked zipper. I'm so excited about how wonderful it turned out. I was in the thrift store today noticing hand picked zippers in vintage dresses. Made me feel like I really knew my stuff to be able to notice things like that! Also, horsehair braid is really fun. What an easy way to finish a circle skirt. It's really sculptural. My fabric is a little too lightweight for it. I can see the top edge. An underlining would fix that, I believe.

I'm sad that this beautiful fabric won't get worn-- at least not in this form. I'm thinking about taking off the bodice, taking out some of the fullness of the skirt and slapping on a wide waistband. But not anytime soon. I should have been working on my abandoned Lady Grey :) I've learned my lesson.

Meh.