Butterick 5679 Color Blocked Dress Final

Okay I know you want to see this on me...so here goes...

A few stats ~
Fabric:
Print ponte knit from Mood NYC Store
Brown ponte knit from the collection - most likely from Fabric Mart

Notions:
A couple of strips of stay tape used in the shoulders
Some stitch witchery used in the hems before they were topstitched

A little more info...
Construction was covered in this previous post.  Adding some solid color to the front along with the belt helped break up the fullness of this dress and made me like it more.

Originally I'd pictured this with the brown cardigan shown above but when I dug the pink cardigan (that's very old ~ like 10 years old!) out and paired it with the dress it took it to another level!  Or as my daughter said, "pink is your friend!"

A few more pics...

Back with belt

Side view - print/solid view

Front w/belt - my least favorite view

I will never wear this dress without a cardigan

to break up the print!

Acting goofy during the photo shoot!

I've taken apart two of the pairs of pants and will work on the repairs over the course of the next two weeks.  Thanks for your suggestions about the pants slip/liner but I'm already wearing a couple of layers (like 4) on the bottom and just don't want to add another one.  So I will repair these pants and make another pair - the grayish ones from the City in Winter Collection - and that should give me enough pants to make it through the rest of the winter!

I'm only working three days this week because my extended President's Day weekend begins on Thursday.  The first project will be the Derek Lam Inspired Jacket and coordinating dress.  I will be home alone for the first two days so I want to take advantage of the fact that there will be no distractions to work on this complicated project.

...as always more later!

Butterick 5679 Print Blocked Dress

I had two dresses that I wanted to make this weekend.  The first one from Butterick 5679, a top pattern that I've changed to dress length...

from this fabric combination...

I'm also adding an inch or two to the hem because I'm going to wear it with a belt.  I know, you're wondering who is this woman?  But twenty thirteen is a new year. I've made a lot of garments these last couple of years, so I need to move in new directions. I don't want to sew the same thing over and over again.

I've made this dress before and it was so comfortable to wear.  It looked professional with a black cardigan over it and it wore like I was wearing my pjs to work.  A good thing for my wardrobe because we are entering the darkest days of winter and I'm developing a serious case of Winter Blues...so I need some colorful, fun, yet professional pieces to wear.

Here is the dress on Lulu...

Since I've made the dress before this time I constructed it totally on the serger.  Do you know how fast it is to make something if you serge all the seams?  Faster than fast! *LOL*

So my original idea was to have a totally solid back and a print front, that meant print sleeves and cowl on the front and solid sleeves and cowl at the back.  Ummm, the idea was kinda goofy.  When I started to lay the fabric pieces out that idea quickly bit the dust.  I went with the print sleeves and cowl although I'd cut both pieces in the brown ponte knit too.  The dress with just a solid back looked so much better and less schizophrenic than my originally planned dress.

I'm not sure if I cut this version larger (I tend to do that!) or if the fabrics behaved differently than my polyester knit version either way I ended up taking another 5/8" off both sides. 

I also handled the cowl neckline differently on this one.  First I cut the cowl pattern out halfway, just like the first one because even though I was originally drawn to the large cowl neckline in reality it is too much material at my neckline.  However, I didn't fold it in half as the pattern instructs and stitch it to the dress' neckline.  I just stitched it onto the dress, added a serged edge and let all the excess puddle around the front of the dress' neckline.

The sleeves were stitched to bracelet length and a 1" hem was turned up at the bottom of the dress.  For some reason this version seems more shapeless than the first version, so as stated earlier I will be wearing a belt with it.  Modeled shots will happen later...it's Super Bowl weekend and my daughter is hosting a Super Bowl party this weekend.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I like this dress.  Hopefully hair and make-up, heels and jewelry will improve my outlook on the dress. I am moving onto the next print blocked dress which I'm calling the CK Dress.  

...as always more later!

Butterick 5679 ~ as a Dress!

This is Butterick 5679, a top pattern that is slightly fitted through the bust with stitched hem, raglan sleeves and various necklines including an oversized cowl version.  

Butterick 5679

Since this top is shown in a tunic length, I knew it would be easy to make it into a dress. So my pattern alterations were all about lengthening the front and back pattern pieces and insuring that I had enough width through my abdomen & hip area.  

front pattern alterations

back pattern alterations

I did this by using my TNT dress pattern as the basis for making the alterations, this way I knew I would have the proper fit through my challenging parts without having to jump through a lot of hoops.  I know that I keep saying/writing this over and over again, but peoples it works so why should I walk away from something that works?!

The sleeves didn't need any alterations because they are wide enough through the bicep area to fit my bodacious arms.  It's one of the reasons I like raglan sleeves, there is enough space in the sleeve so that I don't have to jump through hoops to make them work.

This is the fabric that I chose to use to make my version.  It's a medium weight jacquard 100% polyester knit, that is very warm!  

However, when cutting out the pattern pieces I didn't have enough fabric...yet again...for the cowl. Seriously, this is getting old, the fact that I'm not buying enough fabric for projects! But I had no specific garment in mind when I bought these three yards and actually thought that three yards would be more than enough for the dress...yeah right!  

So halfway through the project I was trying to determine how to make this work. I finally ended up using a scrap piece of the knit. I cut it out in a variation of the cowl neck pattern that even though it's not the oversized cowl pictured on the pattern envelope, it works as you can see below...

Also the pattern calls for a seam down the front, but I put my front pattern piece on the fold. I didn't want the fabric's pattern interrupted with a seam. It just didn't seem necessary. I cut off 2.5" off the hemline of the dress. Then another 1.5" off the hemline of the sleeves. Stitch witchery was pressed into the hems and then I used a twin needle to top stitch the hems flat.

It's an easy sew. I've already worn this to work and it was comfortable and warm. It wore well and with a black cardi, it toned down some of the pattern which really made it work appropriate. I will make this again because there are so many knit fabrics in my collection that could be used for this dress.  

By changing it up with some tights and shoe booties, I can wear it out with friends. It will work in a ponte knit, an ITY knit and a wool jersey or a doubleknit. I also think it will be great for most figure types, expect to see this again. It's just a fast & easy dress to sew with a lot of bang for the buck!

So some pics...

This garment was sewn last weekend.  This weekend I have been laid low with the ick, and I decided to rest since I have a heavy work week ahead, as well as, a couple of social events.  However, I have one more Mood project to share that I also finished last weekend and these will be the last sews for me this year.

I've decided that I'm going to give the nieces & nephews and the grandkids gift cards and flannel pjs for Christmas...so the sewing cave will become a sweatshop for Christmas presents during the next two weekends.

...as always more later!