CJ Princess Seam Dress

The minute I started to handle this fabric, as in lay on the cutting table waiting to be cut out, I knew that it was too thin for me. If I'm using a knit, it has to be a little beefier because otherwise it shows every lump and bump of my bodacious body.  So that was my first challenge.

The second one was that I thought I would make the pattern as is from the pattern envelope.  This was my second challenge because "as is" even though I measured to insure there was enough ease for my body...still needed some additional ease added to the pattern to have the fit I like.

So let's go to the pictures:

The dress front unfinished:

The dress back unfinished:

Let's start with what I liked about this pattern:

1.  You serge it together instead of sewing it on your sewing machine.  Okay this is super quick, easy and fun!

2.  I love the offset neckline.  This is an unusual detail that would be quite interesting in a dress.

3.  In another fabric, the ease and flow of the dress would make it a great dress to wear.

4.  The pattern instructions are great...easy to follow and logical.

5.  The pattern is well drafted and well notated.  All notches match, there are lines for the centerfront, the neckline, the underarm, etc.  It is just a very easy roadmap to use to create the dress.

Dislikes:
~I would never line the dress with the same fabric.  I'm in the midst of personal summers and this much knit would cause heat exhaustion.  I would faint in the subway.  I was going to use a tricot knit to line this.

~I'm not sure why you need to interface the neckline except to stabilize where you'd clip to insure the facing flipped in correctly.  It seems to me that you could accomplish the exact same thing (stabilizing the clipped area) with a piece of stay tape.

~This is too short on me.  I cut away at the hemline suggested, even after holding the pattern up to me and double checking in the mirror, the fabric manuevers a little differently than paper does.  Also the pattern instructions suggest a serged hemline...which is on the dress I made.  But personally, I would rather have a hem with a twin needle finish.

In conclusion: 

While I don't particularly like this dress on me from this fabric...I do love the pattern.  This is a look that I don't presently have in my wardrobe and the princess seams and flared hem would be very attractive on me in a different fabric.

I will make this again in a beefier knit fabric from my collection with a couple of minor alterations because the "likes" of the pattern greatly outweigh the "dislikes"...which mostly have to do with the weight of the rayon/lycra fabric used.

One more thing...I'm sure that others will have a different experience with the fabric and pattern than I did.  Again, this is just my opinion and my experience.  If you have a better experience, that is a good thing...as Martha would say.

Look for another version of this dress here soon...cause again I really like the style of the dress, the ease of construction and the pattern details.

...as always, more later!