Simplicity 2403 (finally!)

Between Mitch's crazy schedule and Salt Lakes' crazy weather (It SNOWED yesterday!) I'm afraid my pictures are indoor with flash, but it was that or nothing, and I really wanted y'all to see this dress.

The pattern is Simplicity 2403, which is a Project Runway shirtdress with several sleeve and neckline options. Unfortunately it is now OOP, which is really too bad, as it is a pretty darn awesome pattern. I'll definitely be using it again. There is this silk twill in my stash... But I digress.

The changes I made were primarily for fit. I did an 1 3/4 inch FBA (The details of that are here.), 1/4 inch broad back adjustment and added 1/2 inch to the back waist width. I also raised the waistline in back 1/2 inch. I think this is the most work I've ever done in altering a pattern. I even made 2 muslins! And I'm pretty happy with the fit, although the pictures are showing me a few places that I need to refine.

There is a teeny bit of pooling above the back waist, so I think I need to take off a little from the top of the skirt. I do like the way the back bodice lies. Sorry my hair is covering all the action back there! You can see a dress form picture here.

The other changes I made to the pattern were to line the skirt, change the back gathers to pleats and move the fullness to the sides. I used an invisible zipper, rather than a lapped zip in the side seam. I also hemmed it a little longer than the pattern called for. I was going for a below the knee length, which I think fits a bit better with the Med Men sort of aesthetic. The pattern calls for interfacing in the collar, stand, bands and waistband. I used Pam's new Shirt Crisp for the collar and stand. I totally love it. It seems very stiff while working with it, but it sews beautifully without bulk, gives a perfect amount of body while still remaining flexible. For the bands, I considered not interfacing them at all, but the bodice fabric is quite thin and I was worried that two layers wouldn't support the buttonholes well. I ended up using Pro-Sheer Elegance there and I like the teeny bit of structure it adds without making it stiff. For the waistband, I wanted more stability. I was really happy with the way the two layers of Pro-Weft worked in Mitch's pants, but for this dress, I simply interfaced both the waistband and the facing with Pro-Weft. I think it's perfect.

Here is the skirt lining. It is a rayon satin from the stash that is just yummy. The dress fabrics are cotton, calico broadcloth for the bodice and lightweight sateen for the skirt. Both are from Fabric Mart. The skirt fabric was part of a mystery bundle that I ordered when I ordered the calico. I couldn't believe how perfectly they matched. I really think the folks at Fabric Mart tailor the mystery bundle that they send to the fabrics you've purchased. This isn't the first time that my bundle has contained fabrics that coordinate with my order.

Here is the side zipper from the inside. I really wasn't sure how to attach the lining to it without handsewing, so I just slipstitched it down. It sure looks nice from the inside.

From the outside, it also looks darn nice. It also took four tries. It really just didn't want to line up, then when I actually got it aligned I had twisted the zipper. Yes, I said a swear word.

And for the finishing touch, I made a belt! How fun is that?! I used a belt making kit from A Fashionable Stitch, and Sunni's wonderful tutorials. It was super fun and not at all difficult. I think it's the perfect addition to this dress and I will definitely be making more.

Simplicity 2403 preview

I'm so close to finishing this dress, I can taste it!!

Here is how it looked this morning. It still needs a hem, and that's it! Hopefully my kids will sleep a little and I'll get a chance to finish it. I cannot believe how long I've been working on this thing. I don't usually have that much stamina for a project.

I snapped a quick (read - blurry and poorly composed, sorry!) picture while I was measuring the hem. I'm so happy with how the fit turned out. I'm so bad about skipping the muslin stage and just blasting forward, but I'm glad I put in the effort this time.

I'll post a better review and a summary of my alterations as soon as I'm done and can get a few good pictures. I'm also planning to make a belt out of the tangerine sateen to go with it. How fun is that?! I purchased a beltmaking kit from Sunni at A Fashionable Stitch. I think it will be a nice vintage-y touch.

Some knitting and more Simplicity 2403

Now that Duncan is a little better at playing on his own, I've picked up my knitting needles again. I have a few projects in the works, and I was knitting away at a scarf for Myra the other night when she asked if she could help. I asked her if she knew how to knit, and she said, "Can you show me?" Yes, please!!

She's determined!! I think these needles are too big for her though, since she quickly gave up on actually making stitches and started just wrapping the yarn around the needles.

It's still fun though! We've started a little nightly tradition of knitting together. She picked some Barbie pink yarn and I got her some smaller needles. She sits in my lap and holds the needles while I maneuver them for her and she wraps the yarn. Not bad for a three year old!

I've also started work on the Simplicity 2403 dress from my last post. Thanks to everyone for the input!! I tried out a few things with the muslin, and found that I did need the wearing ease provided in the upper back. I loved the idea of moving the ease to the sides. Mitch has several RTW shirts that are pleated that way, so that was what I did.

Here is how it looks! Nice and flat without any pouf at all. I love it!!

Here is the front. I have some gold half ball buttons to put there, and the skirt (which is a tangerine sateen to match the flowers in the print) and lining to attach. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to insert the side zip around the waistband and lining. I'm hoping for a flash of insight as I construct.

Simplicity 2403 muslin

I've been working on fitting Simplicity 2403.

I'm making the view on the model on the right, but with the shorter sleeves. This dress is very fitted in the bodice, with a back yoke and a menswear style collar with stand and front button placket. To fit the bodice, I started with a tissue fit on my dressform, which demonstrated a desperate need for an FBA. As you may know, the traditional method for doing an FBA also adds width to the waist, which I don't need, particularly in this fitted dress. In the book The Perfect Fit there is a princess FBA method that doesn't add width, so I decided to give it a try.

Click the picture if you'd like to see it larger

Here is my initial alteration. The purple pictures above describe it. I deviated from the instructions in that they only had a 1/4 inch addition for each cup size above a B, which for me would have only been a 1/2 inch addition. Laugh with me. I added 2 inches, then shaved off about 1/4 inch just at the bust point to correct a bit of a "bullet" look.

Here is the first muslin on Sandra Dee. As you can probably see, she's got a bit too much fabric around the bust, particularly at the bust point.
In back, I did a 1/4 inch broad back adjustment.

Here is how the back looked on me. I'm so not liking the wrinkles all over the waist, which were saying to me both "too tight" and "too long" at the same time. I'm also not a fan of the pouf created by the gathers at the upper back.

You can see the gathers a little better here, although they don't pouf quite as much on Sandra Dee. She's longer in the waist than I am. Lucky girl.
For muslin #2, I shortened the back waist by 1/2 inch, tapering to nothing at the side seams (basically a sway back alteration), and I added 1/2 inch of width at center back, both in the bodice, as well as the waistband and skirt. Then I added back the 1/2 inch I took out of the bodice to the top of the skirt. Instead of gathers at the upper bodice, I did an inverted pleat.

Here is how that looks on me. I didn't re-muslin the skirt, since the alterations were minor. I think the fit is better, but there is still a little pouf. So, gentle readers I put the question to you. Pleat? Gathers? Get rid of the whole bit? Do you think the fit needs more tweaking? Tell me what to do!