The Four Day Dress

Every spring/summer I long for the perfect cotton dress and start my annual search for the perfect pattern and suitable fabric. And so far, every year, I never quite achieve it. I look at all the wonderful dresses you all make and showcase and I want to be like you.

This year has been no exception. I found this happy fabric in the local shop and images of the perfect summer dress materialised in front of my eyes. I've had the pattern for a while - I believe it it OOP now but still available from Vogue's website if you're prepared to part with $30 hard earned. 

For the summer dress version - I dropped the sleeves - Yes me going sleeveless, what ever next? Shortened to just below knee and lowered the neckline into a scoop. In other words my usual mucking about with a pattern. The pattern classification is 'easy' so I reckoned a few hours at most. You start off thinking a quick and easy to make cotton summer dress - I'll be wearing this tomorrow - and what happens? Nightmare - that's what. Four days of frustration, disaster, mistakes and horror. What should have taken me a day at most has now run into its fourth and believe me, last day!

 Sewing and construction went fine, straightforward and relatively simple and then I tried it on.........

"Take off my dress!" Esmerelda snapped at Quasimodo

Really baggy bodice, ill-fitting skirt, armholes that cut into my skin, neckline too tight. Nothing was right about this.

The bodice was attached to the skirt three times! The neckband has been sewn and removed, sewn and removed etc until I was ready to turn this into a skirt!

Scrappy loop and button closure at centre back - but at least it's on and works!

In my haste to complete this I forgot to do a sway back alteration at cutting stage so moved the back darts to a more acute angle and shock horror - couldn't be bothered to rip out the first dart  - just pressed the living daylights out of it. Believe me, I'd done so much ripping out by this stage that this dress could be categorised as being ripped out rather than sewn!

The front skirt was baggy and wrinkly around the tummy on trying on, so it was ripped apart from the bodice yet again and I added two front darts for shaping. Except I added them off centre.....

As I was doing a sleeveless version I had to cut the armholes into a different shape and then figure out the finish.  So in my frustration I just cut! Now I can get my arms through the armholes and they don't chaff against the skin but they are not symmetrical and a little loose. However, here's a tip: if you don't have enough fabric to make a bias strip or no colour coordinated bias binding in the box, cut a straight strip of leftover jersey fabric and apply as if it is bias. The stretch in the jersey is enough to go round the curves. This little tip is the only good thing to come out of this project so far!

The fixes:

Front darts - I hoping the fabric is so busy that no one will notice the darts.

Arm holes - I'll wear a cardigan.

Loop & button closure - I'll make sure the cardigan covers this at the back.

Mis-aligned centre back - I sewed some grosgrain ribbon that was hanging about around the bodice seam and cleverly positioned it to hide the join. Failing that the cardigan will cover this as well.

Not one seam allowance is finished; no lining inserted; a machine sewn hem (I usually slipstitch); and one p****ed off sewer! And the reason I went to all this trouble instead of just throwing the whole thing in the box for another day is this............

Tune in soon for the BIG REVEAL.

I hope this made some of you feel a little better about your sewing skills because I seem to have lost mine! Ruth