Completed: Simplicity 1358 Maxi Dress
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Fall is my favorite time of year. While some of y'all have been crying over the end of summer I've been over here happily trading out my sandals for boots....a little to prematurely I might add. While it's officially Fall here the temps feel otherwise. It's kind of a challenge getting dressed for work. The mornings may start off chilly but by midday it's back in the 80's and your shedding clothing. That's where layers come in. I never got around to sewing up a maxi dress for the summer so I thought
some heavier knit and layering pieces like a jean jacket would make it a
good transition piece for the Fall.
I got a new 50mm lens for my camera. These photos are my first time using it and I def need some practice. I could really use some advice on how to get a crisp clear picture. I'm out of focus in all these shots. It's super difficult when you are your own photographer, too lazy to read your manual and rely on hope and a remote control to get a good picture. I tried the old trick of auto focusing on a stick or leaf on the ground then switching over to manual focus so it wouldn't go out of focus. I obviously didn't do it right so if you have any tips, tricks or resources I could check out please help a girl out and comment below! Oh and I despise the embedded Flickr text that now displays on the photos when you put your cursor over them. Why you gotta go changing things again Flickr?!
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Pattern: Simplicity 1358
Fabric: Black ponte knit from JoAnn Fabric
Sizing/Alterations: Whoa let's spend some time and talk about this. I never know where I fit into the sizing of Big Four patterns. There is always so much ease built in so I try to follow the finished measurement guidelines. Based on those I'm a small so that's what I cut for my test. The only adjustment I did starting out was to shorten the waist by 1.5 inches. You can see in the photo I have some gaping at the armholes and some fabric pooling at the back.
After doing some measuring of my pattern against a tank I liked the fit of I decided to size down at the top to an XS. For the pooling fabric at the back I did a swayback correction per my Fit for Real People book. I also ended up bringing in the side seams about a 1/2 inch just at the waist for a more defined look because I feared it looked like a potato sack. Surprisingly I didn't need any adjustment to the length of the dress. I did a 1/2 inch hem and it ended up the perfect length.
I see some wrinkling at the armpit so I'm wondering if a XS was too small. It does feel a little snug but not uncomfortable. It looks as if my swayback correction did nothing at all. I'm kind of thinking the only way to correct all that fabric pooling is with a center back seam. I'd rather not have a CB seam as I don't like the way it looks but it may be the only cure. What do you all think?
Likes: Construction wise it's an easy make. I made this entire dress with my serger and finished up the hem on my coverstitch. I think this will be a very versatile piece in my closet this season as it can be styled a ton of ways by layering over it tees, jackets or over-sized sweaters. And though at first glance I didn't, I now like how wide and flowy the bottom of the dress is.
Make it again? I'm not so in love with it that I want to tackle my fit issues for another version just yet though that center back seam has got me wondering...
What are your favorite transitioning pieces in your closet?
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