I really love the way that it turned out, but I have a few gripes about this pattern. That lovely yoke, with no topstitching at all, was ridiculously fussy and involved way more hand sewing then I ever want to do. It went together very strangely and I am not completely happy with it, despite some serious ripping out and re-sewing to get the shoulders to line up. The instructions call for constructing the front and back yoke separately, then sewing them together at the shoulders, sort of like a lined vest, but way smaller (and more complicated!). I must have fudged the seam allowances, because when I got to that step, they didn't line up at all. I had to shave a little off the front and open up the (trimmed!) seam in the back to get them to sort of line up. Very frustrating. Despite all that, I think it turned out really adorable, and I am contemplating how to adjust it to make it less fussy. I'm thinking that if I get rid of the zipper and put buttons on the shoulders, I can construct the yoke without all that weirdness.
Oh, and the bloomers are my usual Butterick 4110. I'm going to have to retrace that pattern, it gets so much use!
4 comments:
I have a pattern that is similar, it's become my go-to dress pattern because I love the round yoke so much! I modified it over time to omit the zipper and close up the back, and just finished the edges of the front and back yoke and added buttons. Oh and I topstitch the yoke, to avoid handstitching (not my thing!) They really are super cute dresses on little girls, well worth all the adjustments :-)
Added on behalf of my mother - to whom I owe all of my sewing knowledge.
"No: to their construction methods.
Sew side seams. Bind the bottom of the armsceye. Then, prior to sewing shoulder seams, the yoke and its lining can be attached to the gathered skirt in one operation (make a sandwich with the skirt as the filling). Sew neck seam in same fashion. Turn, pulling skirt out at shoulder seams, machine-sew the shoulder seams of the garment, then whip-stitch the shoulder of the lining. It's not more than 3 inches of hand-work. Still, the hand-sewing can be eliminated, if you carefully press under the seam allowances at the shoulder, having the tiniest of overlaps. Then, stitch in the ditch, spreading the seam slightly as you stitch. The stitching is barely perceptible to the naked eye.
Then, baste/sew your CB, and install the zipper.
I've never cared for the instructions for McCall's. I usually throw them out.
The finished product is adorable!!!"
Thanks, Mom!
I just saw this on craftster. I have the same pattern, so I know exactly what a pain it can be. but, you did a wonderful job - the dress looks great!
Just found your blog via craftster :). This dress is adorable! I have been wanting to sew a baby dress, but I have never added buttons to anything :/. One of these days :)...
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