I have been sewing. A lot. Sewing things like this little summer dress.
Pattern: Cynthia Rowley 2250
Fabric: Navy blue silk/linen blend from Michael's Fabrics underlined w/ a white cotton voile from Dharma Trading Co.
Cost: $10 for fabric, $10 for lining, $2.5 for zipper = $22.50
Size: Most of the reviews I found on this dress indicated a host of issues. To increase my chances of a good fitting bust, I decided to go with the size indicated by this article, which led me to cut a 10 in the bust grading to a 12 in the hips. As you can see by the pull lines in the back this was a tad too small. It's not apparent while you say, stand. But it becomes apparent while doing things like sitting at a 7-course chinese dinner. Take a guess as to which one of those activities I did in this dress. Let's just say that reduced rib expansion capabilities limited my food intake which is never a good thing.
Sewing: I followed the instructions to the letter and had no difficulties. And although some reports indicated that the lining piece was drafted too short for the bodice, I didn't have this problem. I did mark the darts and pleats very very carefully, like quadruple checked them. The problem I had was that the bust cups in the lining piece were significantly smaller than the bodice cups. It also sort of annoyed me that the instructions said to finger press the pleats/darts on the bodice because now it looks a bit frumpy. Oh well.
Conclusion:
Things I like:
1. The shape of this dress.
2. The fabric+pattern pairing. I couldn't decide for the longest time what sort of fabric to make it in. I noticed that it is hard to see all the pleats/darts on certain patterned fabric which led me to a solid fabric. Then, I didn't want to use a light solid fabric because I was afraid it might look messy. AND I wanted to shop my stash. It might not be so obvious from these pictures but I think the blue does a good job of showing off the darts/pleats w/o making it look too messy. And, the fabric is super soft and holds up pretty well, even after 4 hours of sitting and eating.
3. The pockets!
4. The elastic ruching in the back.
Thing I don't like:
1. I wish it were 1cm looser.
Fabric: Navy blue silk/linen blend from Michael's Fabrics underlined w/ a white cotton voile from Dharma Trading Co.
Cost: $10 for fabric, $10 for lining, $2.5 for zipper = $22.50
Size: Most of the reviews I found on this dress indicated a host of issues. To increase my chances of a good fitting bust, I decided to go with the size indicated by this article, which led me to cut a 10 in the bust grading to a 12 in the hips. As you can see by the pull lines in the back this was a tad too small. It's not apparent while you say, stand. But it becomes apparent while doing things like sitting at a 7-course chinese dinner. Take a guess as to which one of those activities I did in this dress. Let's just say that reduced rib expansion capabilities limited my food intake which is never a good thing.
Sewing: I followed the instructions to the letter and had no difficulties. And although some reports indicated that the lining piece was drafted too short for the bodice, I didn't have this problem. I did mark the darts and pleats very very carefully, like quadruple checked them. The problem I had was that the bust cups in the lining piece were significantly smaller than the bodice cups. It also sort of annoyed me that the instructions said to finger press the pleats/darts on the bodice because now it looks a bit frumpy. Oh well.
Conclusion:
Things I like:
1. The shape of this dress.
2. The fabric+pattern pairing. I couldn't decide for the longest time what sort of fabric to make it in. I noticed that it is hard to see all the pleats/darts on certain patterned fabric which led me to a solid fabric. Then, I didn't want to use a light solid fabric because I was afraid it might look messy. AND I wanted to shop my stash. It might not be so obvious from these pictures but I think the blue does a good job of showing off the darts/pleats w/o making it look too messy. And, the fabric is super soft and holds up pretty well, even after 4 hours of sitting and eating.
3. The pockets!
4. The elastic ruching in the back.
Thing I don't like:
1. I wish it were 1cm looser.
Some other great reviews
P.S. I missed you all. I hope to be more regular now that I have settled into my new routine.
4 comments:
Very nice effort.
That is a gorgeous fabric! Linen/silk sounds so luxurious. The fit looks good and the shape flattering from here, but the limiting of food intake by clothing is indeed an annoyance. You need to make an eatin' dress!
So good to see you online again! Your post especially brought a smile to my face because I just agreed to do a sewalong with a friend (in another state) using this dress pattern. I think your dress turned out wonderful, not frumpy at all. I am also planning on using a blue shirting from the stash. I'm even more excited about starting after see your dress. Welcome back!
Thanks! I'm so happy that I have more time to be more active in this little community again.
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