Making Dresses

Andy and I are going on a cruise soon, and I need some dresses!  I went shopping for a dress and tried on many.  That whole incident was somewhat of a fiasco, and I left the boutique thinking,  "I could have a dress already cut out and ready to go from the time I spent here."  So, I left there and went to the fabric store.  Of course, I can never get out of the fabric store quickly - but still...






I found a great rayon jersey and knew I had plenty of patterns.  I also bought a pretty poly satin/ silky, but since we're leaving in just a few days, I figured I better stick with the knit!

I have this pattern, McCalls 6752, and thought it would make a great maxi.  Well, I got out the pattern pieces and got to work on the bodice, knowing that I would need a FBA.  After I did all the alterations to the pattern and started to lay it  out, I realized that the sheet with the skirt front and back were missing!  Now what?  Well, I figured I could certainly find another skirt pattern to use.  I have made Christine Johnson's Basewear 2 skirt before, so I pulled that out.  I had exactly enough fabric (2 yards) to make the dress long!



The dress is super easy - just a front, back and the skirt (the CJ skirt is the same piece for front and back, and it's a full pattern (not "place on fold") so you only have to cut it once!  Everything went together pretty quickly, and then I tried it on.  Remember that FBA I told you about?  Well, THAT was a big mistake.  I think Dolly Parton could have fit the bodice of this dress!  I ended up taking the dress apart at the shoulder and removing an inch and a half all the way across, and then I angled down another half inch to the front edge.  The bodice fits much better now, but next time I will also need to adjust the back so that the shoulder seams are not so far forward.
I do not have pictures yet, but when I tried it on last night (before fixing the shoulders) I realized that I either need to lose some serious weight quickly, or I need to get some super powerful spanx!  This dress is CLINGY.  Thank goodness it is black!!

I am still waiting to hem the dress because I am going out on Monday to find some strappy sandals to wear with it and the other dress(es) I plan to take.

My original plan was to finish this vogue dress.  I started making it for an event last September.  When I realized I was not going to finish it in time for the event, I quit working on it.  Then I lost interest.  It has been adorning my dressform for the last 10 months!  Of course, when I went to work on it, I could not find the lining.  I knew I had cut one out, but did not know where it was.  When I got up today, I found it right away!  So, as soon as I finished the chain-link dress, I pulled out that lining to see what I had done.  I was so excited to see that I had already sewn together the front of it, which was the most difficult part.  Today I almost finished the dress.  I just have to figure out how I'm going to do the vent and vent lining.  Hope to post pictures tomorrow night.

OH!  And DH got a new suit (he's been needing one!) to wear on our anniversary on the cruise.  There is just something about a man in a black suit, isn't there?