My Love Sewing Makes saga continues. This time is the Simple Sew dress from issue 20. It came with my copy of the magazine. Loved the idea of a diamond shape neckline.

I chose this time to make the elbow length sleeves. I have to many sleeveless dresses that I don’t wear much without a jacket or cardigan. So sleeves are in order. I was, also, curious how the diamond shape of the neck line will sit in the end.

As will all Simple Sew patterns, being as the name says simple  I did not follow the instructions. I did my usual changes for this pattern make:  which are  #do a full bust adjustment # to lengthen the bodice between shoulder and bust and then reduce it by the same amount, 3 cm, between waist and hips and # then consider shortening the hem to hit the knees (anything longer and I look like the shortest person in the world).

I used fabric with a little bit of stretch. I got it from my stash! I do sometimes shop my stash when I make something. I am getting better at it, so I hope soon my fabric collection will go down, because I was good at using it in my projects. But now back to Loretta Jewel. The dress came together easy and fast.      As you can see in the picture, the hips seem to be a bit to big. So I decided to draw a line and take them in a little. I just eyeballed this one. Was not really in the mood for a scientific way. I learnt that I get better results when I use my instinct. I took about 1.5 cm each side . I tapered the line into the original line.  Once I was happy with the amount I need to take out, I changed the paper pattern, in case I make the dress again. I think the neckline will look better on a sleeveless dress. But we  will see. It took me a little to figure out the facing, but I got there in the end. I managed to sew the back  facings the wrong way and  had to unpick them and start again.  I thought the neckline will continue in to the back, but has a corner just before the shoulder. I did not expect that. It pulls a little in one of the corner, probably because I did not clip it enough. I was scare I’d clip into the seam and ruin it.

I used my usual finishes (over-locked seams, invisible zip). Because the fabric stretches, to  avoid breaking the thread, I used stretch triple zig-zag stich to finish the hem.    As I mentioned in other posts, for the back vent I prefer using the technique in my Dressmaking book by Alison Smith . For me this technique yields the best result.    Once I made the final adjustments, the dress fitted much better, especially in the hips area. No longer looks like it is too big.

Looking at the pictures, it seems that the back might also be a tad to long. But not sure if this is caused because of me using a slightly stretchy fabric. It could also be caused by my posture. What do you think?