Friday, May 07, 2010

Oolong Dress - Colette Patterns #1008 - Part 2



I made the shell garment out of the red twill I have had for over six years. I remember the dress that this was meant for and maybe one day I will make that dress still. Cute isn't it?

I know I should probably take more length out of the back (see wrinkles above) but after taking the two sections apart and adjusting them I just don't want to do it again. Also the dress seems to fit a bit smaller than its lining so I'm scared to adjust the size any since I have to join the two and still be able to pull the entire thing over my head. What do you think?

Well, I have duplicated the fit of the lining for the body of the dress and I have taken some pictures of the details. Since the dress is constructed the same as the lining, the top and skirt portions are uniquely attached, not by a regular right-side facing seam but instead the skirt portion is placed over the bodice piece at the seam line and attached by top stitching as seen here:



Because I used two separate sizes, a 2 (34") for the bodice and a 8 (39" hips) for the skirt portion, I had to make some adjustments to match the seam lines after I had to shave some width from the waist (27") area.


More images of the dress at this stage:

side view

The neckline gapes only because the center gathers are not secured like this:


What is next:
  • Tighten the gathers at bodice center on both lining and fashion fabric.

  • Add sleeves to outer dress instead of attaching them last as in the printed instructions. Because I want the inside of the dress to have a clean finish I will achieve that by slip-stitching the lining to the sleeves over the raw seam allowances.

  • Attach the neckline facing.

  • Hem both skirts. Not looking forward to this part at all.Who knows how long that will take me?
Next post (whenever that will be*) will show the finished dress.

*Anyone want to take bets on which month, which year? Hey, money could be made!

4 comments:

Mary Nanna said...

I'm thinking it's looking gorgeous - the cut, the colour .. as for the back, I'm guessing that you need to let out the back side seams a little - then if you still have that riding up it may be a sway back adjustment is required or the back bodice shortened. However, I'd let it out a bit first and see what happens to those horizontal wrinkles. However, these are my guesses because I don't have to do these adjustments myself.

Can't wait to see the finished dress!

Jorth said...

Can't wait to see the finished dress... make it soon, 'kay? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Wow--the color is beautiful on you! I'm looking forward to the finished dress.

Audrey said...

This is such a pretty dress on you, the color and the style. I think you should remove the extra fabric from the back so it fits perfectly, but I understand how you feel about messing with that part of the dress again if you have already done it once. I have a dress I am fitting and it is going on 6 months since I started it. Sigh! What pattern are you using for this dress?