Off the Clock

Yes, I know I already made a dress for my graduation , but as much as I think it is ok I'm just not loving it. I just picked up some beautiful cotton weave fabric with 3% spandex that I was itching to get sewing on. The fabric was not cheap at $27 a meter (although I did get it on sale for half price and then paid for that with a gift certificate so I guess it was free lol) but in the end I have a dress that I love for much less than I would have paid for a ready-to-wear version. I think the biggest disappointment with the previous dress is that I had bought a woven suiting fabric with 3% spandex and then lined it with a woven rayon lining - zero stretch. I should have used a knit lining. So Grad Dress 2.0 didn't get lined at all. I didn't have a lot of time and I will just wear a slip with it. It's amazing how using a pattern for the second time can be so much better. I guess that's the reasoning behind making a muslin first. The pattern is already fitted and...

I've finally finished New Look 6643 - my Little Orchid Dress. It is far from perfect but overall I think I am satisfied with the final result. There are a number of things I would try to do differently if I make this dress again. It is possible I may rip it apart to replace the lining.  Or I may just live with it.  I think I need to wear it once to see how I really feel about it.  Here's the scoop: I'm guessing a lot of my frustration with the lining came about because I made alterations to the dress, altered the paper pattern to match, cut out the lining, then made more alterations to the dress. So the lining wasn't exactly the same as the dress by the time I went to put them together. I now need to go over my paper pattern and make all final adjustments so that next time (?) I can cut out the dress and the lining in one go. In hindsight I should have gone a size down, at least from below the darts up, the same as I do for my knit tops. I was worried that would...