Friday, June 22, 2012

Dress in Progress

Good Lord, did somebody throw up on my dress form?! Oh, wait, that's the back of the dress - it's not really THAT shiny, but I told you it would be a surprise!

Let's talk about my awful zipper application. Now I've done fly-front zippers in pants, and invisible zippers in Mardi Gras dresses, but I'm not used to a straight-forward centered zipper. The pattern tells you to stitch the center back seam up to the small dot, then press the 5/8" seam allowance up to the neck, then, "Slide the zipper right side up under the seam allowance and topstitch." I'm serious. There was no "baste the seam closed and press seam allowance open," no "unzip the zipper and stitch the right tape to the right seam allowance," no nothing! Now, of course the zipper came with detailed instructions, but I was feeling the simplicity of the Simplicity, so I just pinned, basted, and topstitched...which was the wrong thing to do, as evidenced by my horrible wrinkles. I did go back and fix that glaring pucker in the blue, but next time I'll do the whole thing by the rules.

And here's the front. I TOLD you there would be a diamond over something, and the hoo-hah wins! Do you see how I carefully raised the fabric so the diamonds at the shoulders would not be right over the boobs? (This placement does highlight the ovaries, although you could argue that those are kidneys.)

I just attached the neck facing and pressed it under to see what it was going to look like - I haven't undersewn or anything. I like the keyhole.


You're supposed to attach a button and loop to close the top - we'll see. I also have to attach the sleeves.

So I think this is going to be really cute, but the REAL fabric will be even cuter. I may have to wear this at Lake Martin when we do the big family trip in July. (We will now pause for the backlash from my family...)

8 comments:

Junior said...

Wait, isn't that Memaw's Eastern Star dress from 1975?

KID, MD said...

SO fun to see it made up!! That fabric totally goes with the 70s vibe - shine and all! I love it! The keyhole is pretty awesome.

Rachelle said...

Wow, that turned out great. Love the keyhole neckline and the diamond placement under it!

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

No, Tracey, it would be full-length for Eastern Star, but that fabric would fit right in! And thank you guys for appreciating the keyhole - it's the "key" to the whole look! Doh!

Pam said...

Great start on the dress! That keyhole looks very difficult, by the way.

I always have the same issues with my zippers - always a struggle - even if I handpick. I'm always rushing it seems. .

Liba said...

Impressed with the dress but I have to admit I thought "lynn has lost her mind" at the fabric. Glad to hear it is a trial dress. Can't wait to see the real thing.

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Pammie - I immediately thought about you handpicking zippers - good to hear the handsewing doesn't make it any easier!

Liba - there it is! Momma said the same thing when I bought it.

Sheila said...

Fabulous dress.