Peachy Petal Dress

Right enough is enough with this drab, grey, wet weather that appears to be with us constantly at the moment - What we need  is an injections of colour to brighten up the mood.

Aren't they delicious! 

My knowledge of textiles could pretty much be written on the back of a fag packet-a deficit that requires huge improvements and is slowly growing. This one was intriguing-wool bamboo and silk.. or was it linen? can't remember now, what ever! Had originally though of going for checks but liked the thought of bamboo, plus  I'd got a wonderful pair of shoes that would go with it! 

Pattern chose was Butterick 5917 good simple lines with the added detail of a ruffle around the neckline- 

Preparation of course always includes a pre-wash of the fabric, thinking I'd be super efficient I chucked in a couple together... as Craig Revel-Horwood would say "it was a DISAAASTER darling" the bloody peach had ran Arrrhhhhhhh into a beautiful Amy Butler Cotton, ear marked for a DKNY jobby 

 

Damage limitation- 2 soaks in a bucket of Oxy-clean -my sister commented on FB that it looked like a placenta eeeeuuuwww - as if  my love of this fabric is not already tainted. 

Anyhow, hind sight, that wonderful thing- perhaps it should not have been washed-but what's the point of having a dress you can't wash and has to go off to the dry-cleaners every time it worn- exactly NONE.  

I took the time to make a toil, more to get the fit just right around the old derrière -

So glad I did, as it wasn't that area that proved a problem but the upper back, loads of excess, I remembered an article that I'd read, luckily I'd bookmarked the site here, so no trawling the net find unrelated stuff.    

I drew a line down from the shoulder ( keeping it parallel to the centre line) to just above the dart point, then slashed across from the side so that the pattern could be folded along the drawn line to take out the required excess. The side seam line was then re-drawn in- hey presto it worked! 

For some reason though when cutting out the fabric I buckled and didn't take out as much???? resulting in a slightly roomier dress- note to self trust your toile. 

An additional change that I made to the pattern was the sleeves; reviewed a couple of tutorials on how to achieve this look, particularly liked this one here from My Sparkle.  

To "zush up" the potentially boring  plain dress further, I lined the sleeves with a contrast/complimenting fabric that was lurking in the stash from a previous bunting phase.  

The result was great, just a bit of fun peeking out  

Contrast/complimentary lining 

Once the sleeves were sewn in, they obviously need to be over-locked finished. This meant that in the shoulder area there were 6 layers of fabric, including the ease creases to contend with- noway would my purring Janome 6234  cope with that lot, so I cut away the centre pieces leaving the two outer to be over-locked, sandwiching in the others 

Centre bulk cut away in sleeve seams 

    








99.99% of the time I prefer an item to be lined and this was no exception, to give room and reduce additional stress and strain on the lining I tend to put tucks in rather than darts. What's the preference out there darts or tucks? 

Zip insertion can be a right bane, if they don't go in first time, I can guarantee they are in and out like a fiddlers elbow- the latter being the case most of the time, this was no exception. Unable to find a concealed zip or match the colour, I went for a bright orange normal type zip and sew an over lay. ( too impatient to wait for an on-line order) Think it took me about six goes to get it level, pucker free and flat on the overlay. 

Feel as though I cheated on the hem because I used a bonding tape rather than sewing it! 

I toyed with the button, too much or a nice piece of detailing? 

Button Detail

End results- a tad roomy or perhaps just comfortable? I do love the dress, its colour has done what it was intended to - brighten things up over these dreary months. The fabric feels dead luxurious, with the added bonus that is doesn't crease much. If I can be bothered, I may put a waist stay in (more of a rib cage stay)  just to support and secure the high waist.