Okay, rather than continue to dig that hole, I went back to the drawing board on this one.
It has the usual simple-pattern problems: Easy to make, but only fits you if you have exactly the right body type. In this case, it's supposed to be a relaxed-fit dress but on me would only have about an inch and a half ease around the full bust, and the back is too narrow.
Side note: I have a learning disability tentatively diagnosed as dyscalculia, which is sort of like dyslexia but with numbers. I don't know how to describe it except that it's like numbers are holograms and I can never pin them down: I think I have a grasp of them and then when I look at them again, they're different. So I can add up the same set of numbers repeatedly and get the wrong answer every time (or several wrong answers), and then go back the next day and add them up and get the right answer. Or a new wrong answer. And I'll double-check myself and get the same answer, etc. It's a good thing I didn't plan to become an aerospace engineer.
It makes adding up fractions of inches on pattern pieces very interesting. By which I mean frustrating beyond belief.
Anyway, I started this a few weeks ago and quickly fell into a death spiral of over-fitting and frustration, and put it aside until I could work on it objectively.
This time, I decided I'd start with the basics: A back width addition and a full-bust adjustment. This would create neck darts in the back and waist darts in both, although the plan was to rotate the front waist darts to the side because--don't laugh--this seems to have been more common in 1990s dresses. Yes, we're getting all historical here.
I also added an inch of overall length but it's not shown here:
My muslin fabric is ugly but I think this is going to work. I can just pull it on (it will need a hook or button at the back neck but I don't need a side zipper), and the fit is loose but not huge and sloppy. I did make the armscyes a little smaller on the paper pattern after I took this, but they're stop-gap hemmed here so the look isn't accurate.
The fabric will be Cloud 9 Cirrus yarn-dyed cotton in coral. I think the only detail will be a double row of stitching around the neckline, hem, and sleeves (plain short sleeves). I love this fabric--it's tighter than homespun and slightly beefier and softer than shirt-weight chambray. It ravels a little bit when you sew it (more than quilting cotton) but not enough to really be a problem, and it feels really nice to wear.
Side note: I have a learning disability tentatively diagnosed as dyscalculia, which is sort of like dyslexia but with numbers. I don't know how to describe it except that it's like numbers are holograms and I can never pin them down: I think I have a grasp of them and then when I look at them again, they're different. So I can add up the same set of numbers repeatedly and get the wrong answer every time (or several wrong answers), and then go back the next day and add them up and get the right answer. Or a new wrong answer. And I'll double-check myself and get the same answer, etc. It's a good thing I didn't plan to become an aerospace engineer.
It makes adding up fractions of inches on pattern pieces very interesting. By which I mean frustrating beyond belief.
Anyway, I started this a few weeks ago and quickly fell into a death spiral of over-fitting and frustration, and put it aside until I could work on it objectively.
This time, I decided I'd start with the basics: A back width addition and a full-bust adjustment. This would create neck darts in the back and waist darts in both, although the plan was to rotate the front waist darts to the side because--don't laugh--this seems to have been more common in 1990s dresses. Yes, we're getting all historical here.
I also added an inch of overall length but it's not shown here:
My muslin fabric is ugly but I think this is going to work. I can just pull it on (it will need a hook or button at the back neck but I don't need a side zipper), and the fit is loose but not huge and sloppy. I did make the armscyes a little smaller on the paper pattern after I took this, but they're stop-gap hemmed here so the look isn't accurate.
The fabric will be Cloud 9 Cirrus yarn-dyed cotton in coral. I think the only detail will be a double row of stitching around the neckline, hem, and sleeves (plain short sleeves). I love this fabric--it's tighter than homespun and slightly beefier and softer than shirt-weight chambray. It ravels a little bit when you sew it (more than quilting cotton) but not enough to really be a problem, and it feels really nice to wear.
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