I still buy and buy but a sewn wardrobe is beginning to materialize, yay! Here is to keeping that up.
This dress is a bit of a conundrum for me. The pattern is Burda 11-2011-120 and when I first saw it in the magazine I loved it. I used a beautiful tweed in my stash trying to balance the super feminine design of the dress. I worked hard at it. I added a lining and had to figure out how best to deal with the ruffled neckline and the lining (I gave the lining a super-scooped neckline and finished it with my first-ever rolled hem from the serger). I added shoulder pads to improve the shape of the sleeves. I had to sew the ruffles twice to get them just right. And then, after all that work... I just don't like it on me!
How could that happen? I thought I knew what I liked and what I don't, when did I forget? Sigh! I still love that tweed and the dress actually fits me well, oh, okay a bit on the fitted side, but nothing I wouldn't wear. Nope, the problem is all the ruffles, I really don't feel comfortable in this dress, it is just not my style. Has this ever happened to you? Made a garment that was just fine in all respects but you still didn't want to wear? Or do bizarre things like this only happen to crazy me??
Well, now that I have blogged about it I think I'm ready to give it away to the charity shop. Good bye dear tweed, I'm sure you'll make someone else happy. P.S. I know I should have also eliminated those wrinkles at the waist on the back, but back then I was still in denial about needing a sway back adjustment. In fact, after taking those photos I went and investigated how to make sway back adjustments. I don't quite get it how to do it when there isn't a horizontal seam at the waist (as in this case) but I'm working on it!
My review of Burda 11-2011-120 is here at Pattern Review.
It's fantastic - don't be too quick to throw it out! Give yourself time to see yourself looking different and adjust your view of how you think you should look.
ReplyDeleteFor the back, you need to take a horizontal tuck in the tisuse - thicker in the middle tapering to nothing at the side - this will eliminate the extra back length. There is a very good book "the complete photo guide to perfect fitting" which shows this kind of adjustment.
Mary Anna
Sorry you don't like the dress so much - from my view point, it looks fine but I know what you mean about something just not 'being right'. For swayback adjustment on a vertical seam only, take in more just below the waist, ie more than 5/8" seam allowance - or, when cutting out, add your horizontal darts in the paper pattern and cut from there. Take a look here - http://sewruth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/sway-back-in-gym-slip.html I have to do swayback adjustment every time (at least when I could be bothered).
ReplyDeleteDon't give up on the dress just yet - it is tweed after all.
No! No lo dones todavia! Espera y llevalo un par de veces a ver que tal. Yo te veo muy guapa con el. A mi me ha pasado con alguna prenda y al final se convirtio en mi favorita( unos pantalones)
ReplyDeleteUn beso y sigue enseñandonos cositas!
I totally agree - muy guapa con el! And I love the boots too. Seriously, I went on an hour ling google fest looking for blue stacked heel boots.
DeleteAny way you can de-ruffle the design? The silhouette is beautiful on you.
I love that dress on you!
ReplyDeleteI just think that the boots are too heavy and casual for the dress. In my opinion, it would look fantastic with a pair of simple, but elegant pumps.
This is FANTASTIC! I've loved this pattern since I first laid eyes on it, but honestly, how many dresses do I need to have in queue? This is wonderful - I love the colour and that CF ruffle is to die for!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks ladies, for your kind comments! You have given me much to think about. I've decided that I should not give up on this dress without giving it a real chance, i.e. I have to wear it a couple of times first. So, I will try wearing it to the office on an easy day with no meetings, so I don't feel too stressed about it. And I think Chris is on to something with her suggestion to ditch the boots... so, I'll report back in a few weeks, ok?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others - the dress looks fantastic on you. I actually like it with the boots, but I would hem it shorter by maybe 2 inches, so that it goes right across your knees. This dress could be dressed up or down, and the color is neutral enought that you can accessorize it many different ways. Good luck with it - I hope you have fun with it.
ReplyDeleteI like this dress on you. It looks very similar to the way mine looked on me. I made my dress in a dark blue wool crepe. I like it, but I only feel comfortable wearing it to certain events as it is for me, very formal but still feminine. I was hoping to fide a fabric with two different colors, one the right side of the fabric and a second color on the back side to use for this dress, so the ruffles would be a different color than the dress.
ReplyDelete