ZigZag Dress

I am finally finished with the McCall 6433 dress.  It is not without it's problems.

The area on dresses that frequently don't fit me right is the upper bodice, so I took extra care to follow the fitting directions on the pattern which suggested that no adjustments were needed.

I debated changing the neckline.  But I thought that I could get away with a slightly plunging neckline since the maxi length would keep everything else looking very modest.

Problem #1: Error in neckline judgement: believing it would look like the pictures.

I had planned to make the dress with the sheer knit fabric that I bought last year in Portland at Fabric Depot and use a tank dress as a slip.  As I read the directions, I decided it would be easier to line it as was the pattern plan for the bodice.

I auditioned several fabrics from the stash and this navy piece of cotton knit that I got at a thrift store won.

Problem #2: In retrospect, a thinner fabric would have been better.  This was a lovely, thick t-shirt knit that added a lot of bulk on the upper body pleats.

I also added a skirt lining, but only to knee length so the bottom 19" is sheer.  I am still happy with this decision.

Problem #3: When I was laying out the fabric, I realized that the zig-zags went the length of the fabric instead of selvage to selvage.  So I have a piece of fabric 60" x 77" with the length the wrong direction of the fabric design.  By flipping the bodice sections upside down and compromising some on length, I was able to get it cut out.  

I got the dress finished today, tried it on, and found several issues.

Problem #4.  The fabric pulls away from the zipper.  I may be able to press this issue away.  Alternatively, I do have long hair... That should cover the problem.

Problem #5: When I tried it on, one of the sleeves was all weird.

I tried to ignore it, but it was dramatically different from the other one.

I discovered that when I surged the sleeve on, I'd managed to get a tuck of the lining fabric into the seam.   Ugh.  I hate to admit this, but I already fixed this problem once.  Somehow I managed another tuck.

My solution:  Hand darning of the lining fabric.  (Point of clarification: I mean "darn" the verb, not "Darn!" the expletive.  I was saying many other colorful words at this point.)

Problem #6:  lining shows.  I think this is likely related to the fact that the blue knit has a lot more stretch than the zig fabric.

My solution:  Hand-stitching the lining into place about 1 cm from the edge where the lining was drifting.

Why by hand?

Because it is completely invisible on the front.

Lining problem solved!

However, now we can see that there is some serious cleavage going on.  (Do I get to count this as problem # 7 since this is where I discover the degree of the issue, or is this still problem #1?)

Don't get me wrong.  I am happy to show off the girls.  I was a flat-chested teen and always wanted to have a rack.  And gaining 30 pounds is way cheaper than buying a set.

However, this is a bit much for the office.

Final fix?

A Boobie Dickey.

*snort*
Tee Hee Hee!
Oh...I crack myself up.

I imagined this with snaps, but couldn't find a sew-in snap in my stash.  (I'm sure I have them, but they are hiding).

I settled for velcro.  Strips of fuzzy side on the inside of the dress, and hookie end on the dickey.  I actually need to add another dot on each side to help it to lay flatter.

Stash used:
* 1 5/8 yard zig-zag knit (only 1 year old!)
* 1.5 yard navy knit - less than 2 years in my stash, but from a thrift store so likely in another stash for years before that.
* 22" zipper - price tag of $0.75  probably from the 3 bags of zippers that I bought for a couple bucks at Salvation Army in the 1990's.
* velcro
* thread

This is my second completion for both Style the Stash and  Sew Your Wardrobe for a Year