Ellen's Valedicatory dress - some details

The skirt. There is only one pattern piece for the skirt. Like the bodice overlay it goes from centre front to centre back without a side seam. We wanted the skirt to be fuller, so I cut and spread the pattern as shown here:

Well, let me say IT DID NOT WORK. All the fullness ended up somehow in the back like a fishtail and it dropped (due to the bias at work) a good 15-20cm. It was kinda cute but NO! And of course I had already sewed it to the bodice along with the lining. So I had to unpick and recut to take out the back fullness. I also had to recut the bottom of both the skirt and lining. And take out the zip, and unpick the ribbon trim on the lining.

For the hem of the skirt I used my rolled hem foot. Perhaps a hand rolled hem may have been more couture, but I was over it by then. I am happy with the outcome - looks pretty good.

The pattern has a zip going all the way up, but as I have such a contrast in colours I did not want to show a cream zip on the blue fabric nor a blue zip on the white fabric – so I opted for a blue zip up to the bodice and buttons on the bodice. I bought the buttons from a shop in Hong Kong. They come by the metre on lace. Very pretty. I did however have problems with the elastic loops - they stretched. My solution was to put hooks and eyes behind each button (and pray that it works).

Now to some questions and answers:

Caity said “I like that dress EXCEPT - don't you think having the straps coming out from the armpits is a bit weird? Maybe it will look ok on a small figure... I dunno, it just struck me as odd!” Yes, I agree that the photo does look a bit odd. I think they must have made a larger size and pinned it at the back or something. The pattern does not have it coming out quite so far back. It does suit Ellen however as she has a narrow chest and this helps to give her width. Also the ruffle front gives her an illusion of a bust.

Karen said “It does sound tricky, I hope it works out tonight. I have found that there is an awful lot of bust room in the BWOF patterns for my teenage daughter - the SBA for her is about 4cm in a straight dart(trial and error)even after scaling down to a 32 size, so maybe it is bodacious German busts on slim girls that the pattern is drafted for, not operator error?” Yes, it was my error (somewhere) as the bust fits perfectly after my adjustment. It is just the circumference that was iffy. The muslin was fine. The dress was not – first too small, then too large and now a tight squeeze. As she is small busted it gaped when she moved and to stop that I needed to make it really tight. But then it was pulling at the back. So I have put hooks and eyes there hoping that will solve the problem. I will let you know tomorrow if she faints from lack of breathing space or if someone gets hit in the eye from the closure popping

Lindsay had the answer - “I have the same problem with my small-busted daughter. I had to buy her some of that fashion emergency tape just to prevent the peekaboo that sometimes happens”.

Designdreamer had a problem with the Alannah Hill website. I did too, but if you just keep trying (type in the URL) you will be in for a treat. You should get a key to open the door and then you are in! I am not sure if you see much fashion but the site is really fun.

And Kristy said “And I trust you've been giving the gorgeous Cour Carre suit a workout in the meantime? It's too nice not to wear all the time”. Yes I have it on today! And I did buy another suit while in Hong Kong that I have been remiss in posting about. I will do that later when I get over this week.

Trena commented “So, pardon my ignorance, but do you have the same school year as us? Starting late summer/early fall and ending late spring/early summer? It never even occurred to me that our school years would be six months staggered!” Yes our school year is in a calendar year – from late Jan/early Feb to early/mid December. So we get to break up from school and chillax into the festive season. So January here is very much a quite time as many businesses close for annual leave. Then at the end of January we have Australia Day on the 26th. So it is party central from mid December to late January – swimming, relaxing, outside activities, lots of Champagne etc – I can’t wait!

And a sneak peek at what Sofie and I got up to last night.....look what is now hanging in her wardrobe: