Dotted Blue Dress

It's been so long since the last update to this blog, but finally, here is another finished dress project. I have to admit I actually finished it sometime this past April or May, so this post is long overdue! Things have been somewhat busy lately, making my projects almost as sparse as my blog updates, but here's to hoping things will soon "pick-up" again :-)



The design for this dress comes from New Look 6824 and is a combination of the pattern's options for a full skirt, a square neckline, cap sleeves, and a broad sash (views H, A, F, and J, respectively). The fabric is a border-printed cotton from JoAnn's.

Details. . .
Fit alterations/design changes
I made a "muslin" test garment for fitting purposes and found that I actually didn't need to make too many dramatic changes. I made my typical short waist adjustment, did an SBA on the princess seams, and added a little hip room by widening the skirt panels a bit.

I also redrew the neckline to be slightly higher, at the same time giving the corners a more rounded shape. Since the skirt is cut with the border along the hemline, I used the fitting stage to determine the dress's length, as well. I made it slightly shorter by removing 1-inch from the bottom of the skirt panels.

Fabric/layout
The cut of fashion-fabric was about three to three and half yards long and 50+ inches wide, with the border printed along both of the selvages. It turned out to be just about the right amount, though I did need to spend some time spreading the pieces over the material and adjusting the layout, in order to fit in all of the pieces and match the border print at the center back skirt seam. Having a border along both of the outside edges made it necessary to squeeze all of the bodice, sleeve, and sash pieces into the middle of the yardage, so a single-bordered material might require less length (but even then, the layout can be affected by the fabric's width, nap, or the distance between repeats in the border pattern).

Other details
The entire dress is lined, rather than having only a bodice lining as directed by the pattern. I did this by drafting A-line shaped panels for the skirt and seaming them to the bodice lining at the waist. Additionally, I made swing tacks to connect the hem of the lining to the hem of the dress.

Conclusion
What I love most about this pattern is the full, pleated skirt and the big bow at the waist! It also offers many design options and is fairly simple to construct. I really enjoyed making it and find that it's fun to wear, as well.