A UFO Finished - Butterick 5247

I started this dress after Christmas during my Holiday Sewing Break. I overestimated when adding inches to the skirt of the dress and was kinda bummed about how it turned out, so I set it aside...

Yesterday morning while I was moving some pieces around, I noticed it hanging there and realized that it only needed a little work to finish it. Now isn't that always the case with a UFO?

So I completed it:

This dress/tunic pattern has been reviewed alot on PatternReview and I don't really have anything new and/or earth shattering to add to the construction of it. It is a very easy to sew dress that will fit quite a few body types. However, I did make a few changes just for me.

First fabric:

2 yards of a wool jersey

2 yards of a silk charmeuse print given to me by a friend

Changes:

1. After adding so many inches to the abdomen and hip area, the dress looked like a big ole gray housedress my grandmama would have worn. So to remove most of what I added (I think in my mind I was having a 'fat' day) I made a center back seam.

2. I also added a lining because the wool jersey I chose to make this dress from was clingy...let me say that again...clingy - like sticking two pieces of bread together with some peanut butter - clingy. This just was not attractive. So I added a lining to prevent the dress from sticking together and to me!

3. There are no sewn hem allowances in this dress. I did a small serged edge finish on both the dress hem and the sleeve hems and let it be. I probably should have added some inches to the dress during the cutting stage to make it fall a little below my knees...but I didn't...so no hem. I also didn't hem the sleeve edges, there was no need. It wears fine as it is.

4. In the pictures, I am wearing the dress with a sleeveless turtleneck under it. This is how I will wear it because the neckline is very, very wide. The neckline was fine for my top but was unattractive on the dress.

When I finished this dress yesterday I was still on the fence about it. My middle daughter, however, loved it and said that once I was dressed, it would prove to be a better looking dress than I thought. I took her advice on the jewelry and hair, then my youngest daughter took pictures and I have to admit that it does look better than I imagined it would. I will definitely wear this to work on "Fashion Fridays" or days when we don't have meetings.

I'm already about halfway through the construction of the "Anna Sui" Jacket from "The Lisa Outfit" so more later!