Wednesday’s Project
Green Dotted Dress

This dress began when I fell in love with a dotted cotton print from Jo~Ann’s. It was cream with shades of aqua, teal, lime green, and a very dark green. The fabric was just so fun and lighthearted, with some of my favorite colors. I found a coordinating striped fabric that utilized the same colors, so I ordered some of both.

The pattern I chose was New Look 6886, and I modified view A. This is a simple sun dress with raglan cap sleeves, a gored skirt, and a bodice that’s gathered down the center front. I loved the style, and decided it would make a cute summer dress. I couldn’t get the sleeves to fit right, so I made it sleeveless with wide straps instead.

Closeup of the Dotted Dress

I had just finished reading several books on couture sewing techniques, so I used as many of them as I could in the construction of this dress. The bodice lining is hand stitched down, and the seams are all hand finished. There is a coordinating ribbon belt and belt loops that are hand made of thread. There are lingerie guards on the shoulder straps, to keep my bra from showing.

Lingerie Guards

Also, the hem is bias bound with the striped fabric, which is a fun touch. I added more of the ribbon around the bottom of the skirt, and I think it really makes the dress.

Full Length View

What’s Wrong
The first time I went to wear the dress, I discovered that the back gaped rather badly. It buckled outward, giving anyone taller than me a clear view down my back. To fix this, I would need to remove the zipper and take in the center back seam, tapering it so that it lies smoothly along my back, then reinstall the zipper. Since I hate sewing zippers, I never got around to doing this.

Since then, I’ve lost more than 30 pounds, so I have the feeling this dress will need to be taken in considerably if I’m ever going to wear it. Besides that, the skirt is gored—narrow at the top, but flares out at the hem. This means the waist is smooth, with no pleats or gathers. This style is not flattering on me, since I have a rounded belly and wide hips. I require a little bit of gathering at the waist to camouflage this area.

My proposal is to first remove both the zipper and the skirt, then take in the bodice to fit, and then finally shorten the skirt from the waist. Since a gored skirt gets wider from the waist down, if I shorten it from the top, it will be wide enough to require a little bit of gathering to fit the bodice. This will look better on me, and the shorter skirt length will probably be more flattering as well.

Dotted Dress Sketch

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So, what do you think—will these changes make the dress look better? Or am I better off giving it away?