Even I can do better...

Okay so I got my butt in gear and finished off the Vogue 1250 dress.  However, that doesn't mean that I finished the Butterick 5147.  But I did get started on sewing the piping down and inserting the lining...as pictured here:

So can I talk to you a little about making this dress...well I'm gonna anyway. I made a typical sewist mistake,  I didn't stabilize the neckline so of course it stretched out of shape...this folks is where experience comes in.  Having been in this situation before, I knew a few tricks to "Make It Work."  

• First I opened the side seams and stitched them with the smallest seam allowance.  
• Then I stitched them again to reinforce them.  
• Pressing them open and flat gave me some more space.  

Next it was a matter of carefully matching the shorter lining to the stretched out neckline.  Some steam, a few carefully placed puckers and the lining and fashion fabric worked with each other...but I really should have double checked that neckline before I added the piping to it.  

Finally, I also should have added some ltwt. fusible interfacing to the neckline to hold the shape of the original neckline.  Next time I will double check this so that I don't make that mistake again!

Now I just have to tackle the armholes which are experiencing the same challenge. I'm only working four days this week, so hopefully the extra time will allow me to not only finish this dress but to also work on my Mood garment for this month...which I guarantee you won't be as involved as my Lace Challenge Dress!

Here's a sneak peek of the fabric I'm using for the Mood project...

Things are settling down at work and I'm spending some quality time in my sewing cave which always makes things right in my world...

...as always more later!