Dot Dot Dot...

It's been established that I like polka dots. I also really like rayon. This is what happens when the two meet.

I'm not usually a fan of the 40's inspired style. It's just not fluffy enough! But sometimes, I don't want to deal with all those petticoats and underpinnings. This dress has bias cut side panels, bust gathers, and lightly puffed sleeves. It's quite comfortable to wear, though makes me look bigger than I am from some angles, unfortunately.

I followed the pattern (New Look 6093) pretty closely on this one, the only changes being some extra gathering across the bust because it was too big and a shorter hemline. When I first hemmed the dress, I went over to the mirror and one side was a good inch longer than the other. Ah, how did I miss that before I hemmed it? It took a couple tries trimming to get it to be close to the same length all the way around.

Those elastics in the center are what I did to take care of the bust being too big. It helps quite a bit, though isn't perfect. Ideally I would have made the bust panels more gathered to begin with.

What's red and blue on the border?

This dress!
Okay, so I'm not good at jokes. I'll make this post quick because it's not super interesting. This dress is my usual style, but I wanted one that's easier to wear - can be styled up or down and doesn't require a lot of ironing. The fabric I used also has some stretch, which makes this even more versatile.

I've sewn several dresses almost exactly like this... and every time I run into the same problems because patterns just don't fit me right. I keep trying different bodice patterns to see if I can find one that will fit me well. Still no success, even though I've tried with self drafted slopers too. I don't remember what one I used this time, but it was too wide across the back (as expected because I know my back is narrow) and also gaped in the chest. My solution was shirring (again, as usual) and (something different) a bit of elastic in the front to create a sweetheart neckline. The one problem I couldn't really fix is that waist is a bit too high because I was low on fabric. The amount of black between the border prints was barely enough to cut a bodice, and I didn't want to try matching another black fabric to this one. The dress also has a side zipper.

I've probably mentioned this before but I love border fabrics. They automatically make a skirt or dress more interesting. Mmmm look at this hand done hem. Delicious.