Sew Chic 9005 - the Fantasia

Yesterday Mitch and I had a double celebration, both of his graduation from Residency and our 9th wedding anniversary.  I needed a spectacular dress!  So, I was doubly excited when Laura of Sew Chic patterns asked me to test run the Fantasia.  It is perfect!!  And I've loved the design since I first laid eyes on it on her blog.  I love the turn of the century/Asian fusion feel that it has.  Since I was in a bit of a hurry, I had to make do with locally acquired fabric, so the dress is a lightweight poly satin, and the sash is rayon challis.  The challis was lovely, but the satin was very tricky to work with.  It would have been much easier with a natural fiber that took a press better.

Here is a shot on the hanger (and without the sash, which I think really makes the dress).  I love the faux wrap bodice, which is repeated in the back.  The shaping is done with armholes princess seams, which I love for the soft shape it gives as well as the ease of alteration.  Although another thing I love about this pattern is that it fit me straight out of the envelope!  How amazing is that??

Close up of the bodice you can see that the facings are cut on, which gives the neckline a very smooth look.  It also made for a pretty simple construction, despite the complex look of the dress.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it went together.  The instructions were fantastic and the pattern pieces marked so well that the bodice could have been assembled completely without instructions.  Very nice!

This dress gave me the chance to install my first side seam zipper, and was only my second lapped zipper.  I usually use a secondary reference for zipper installation, but the instructions with the pattern were very easy to follow, so I didn't need one.  I'm very happy with the way that the waist seam lines up, although since it is covered with the sash, an oopsie here wouldn't be visible.  I do wish that I had interfaced the zipper area though.  My fabric was very lightweight and I got a little rippling under the lap.  It isn't visible, but I know it's there.

Although lovely from the front, the real action of this dress is from the back.  The back wrap bodice is lovely, and I wore my hair up to show it off.  The train in back is so amazing, and try as I might, I just couldn't get a picture that really did justice the the way that it moves as you do.  It is amazing!

You can see here how gracefully it falls.  So beautiful!  It is princess seamed with flared gores from knee down and a back inset that also shapes it.  Amazing!  I felt so graceful walking in it.
For the hem of the train, I wanted it to have a tiny bit of body, to give it some sweep, so I used a hemming technique from the current (July 2010) issue of Threads.  It was in an article called Better Basics by Louise Cutting.  Basically, you sew a narrow hem in three steps, with each step contributing another "layer" of stitching to weight and stiffen the hem.  It's subtle, but I think it made a real difference in this dress.

Here you can see that two lines of stitching are visible on the inside of the hem although if I'd been more careful and stitched along the previous line of stitching it would have been less obvious.
The lovely scenery in the pictures was courtesy of the Inn on the Creek in Salado, TX.  As you can see, it has a timeless feel that was perfect for this.  The food was amazing and we had a wonderful time there.