Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Simplicity 1880 sew along reveal!


Finally I have finished pictures to share! I’m pleased with this dress.  I wanted a casual summer dress I could wear on regular days and I think this works for me. This dress has a slightly high waistline, so that gives me the shape I need at my almost smallest bit.
Note that the waist on this dress is pretty snug compared to the generous ease in most Simplicity patterns.  Although I’m a mix of sizes, I usually cut for my shoulders and the waist and hips will fit fine anyway because of the ease. For this dress, I had to grade out one size under the bust to the waist and cut the skirt in the larger size.

This pattern offers some great options, with both a wrap bodice and a shirtfront with collar as well as several different sleeves and a sash.  All the pieces fit together without a hitch, though I should note that I didn’t actually take the time to set my sleeves properly. I knew it wouldn’t be terribly obvious with my fabric choice, so I got lazy.
There were a few things I didn’t love. The front and back skirt are the same pattern piece. Are you the same size on the front and back? I’m not – and thank God (or Pilates) for that! This seemed like laziness on Simplicity’s part. To fix this, I cut one skirt in a straight 16 as my front skirt. For the back skirt, I graded out sharply from the waist all the way to the largest size.  This created a back skirt that skimmed over my hips rather than clung to my back muffin top. Much more attractive.
I made my usual adjustments: an FBA and a sway back adjustment to reduce the extreme poof of the back bodice. I fully lined the dress in cotton voile and I added this handy little waist pocket for my crackberry!

Thanks to Sunni for hosting, inspiring and supporting all our efforts with so very many thoughtful and useful posts. It must have been a lot of work and it was all carried out with great professionalism. Check out the Flickr group for other great examples.
And thanks again to the team at George Aubrey Photography for the pictures!

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17 comments:

  1. KID, MDJuly 17, 2012 at 9:12 PM

    Beautiful! I love it with the yellow belt. Such a fun touch.

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  2. ErinJuly 19, 2012 at 10:24 AM

    You did a wonderful job on this dress with all of the modifications and I LOVE that cell phone pocket. I wish I could sew for myself so well. I like you fabric choice too--is it a dotted swiss?

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  3. EmilyJuly 19, 2012 at 1:30 PM

    Ohmygosh! I LOVE it! Great fabric and the fit looks awesome and your little pocket is perfect. :)

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  4. CindyJuly 19, 2012 at 5:42 PM

    Beautiful dress! It looks great with the skinny belt.

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  5. MelanieJuly 20, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    Oh, thank you!
    Erin, it's sort of like a dotted Swiss, but the dots are more like pairs of bars and the base fabric is a little more like broadcloth than voile. I found it way in a dark corner of a bottom shelf in one of the old fashioned fabric stores on Fabric Row.

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  6. CrystalJuly 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM

    Great dress with helpful hints.

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  7. soisewedthisJuly 20, 2012 at 3:25 PM

    Love yours! The little pocket it adorable and the yellow belt looks great with the navy!

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  8. AnonymousJuly 20, 2012 at 5:15 PM

    Absolutely beautiful dress! The choice of yellow for the belt is downright brilliant, and I'm jealous of that pocket. I really wish I'd done some sort of pocket for my shirt and wrap dresses. Your work is gorgeous.

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  9. MelanieJuly 20, 2012 at 6:38 PM

    Thanks so much for the lovely compliments! Pockets are a must have for me. Every time I skip them, I regret it. I inevitably need to stash a phone, tissue, matchbox car or something. I actually meant to make side pockets, but got carried away the day I stitched the skirt and forgot. But I think this little afterthought things worked better anyway.

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  10. Virginia at A Sewing LifeJuly 21, 2012 at 7:27 AM

    Melanie, great dress. I think you are right that your pocket probably works better than a side pocket. I put side pockets in one of my 1880 dresses. They look fine, but when I get an iPhone in there, it makes the skirt feel rather weighted down on that side. A waist stay would probably help with that. Love your color choice and it fits you beautifully.

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  11. MelanieJuly 21, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    Thanks! Also, the hip pocket might add a little too much bulk in this skirt. I think it's pretty well hidden in the waist.

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  12. marcy harriell | oonaballoonaJuly 24, 2012 at 3:36 PM

    gorgeous! i love the fabric, the belt... and genius wee pocket.

    excellent tip on the skirt, i may try that on my next go...

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  13. MelanieJuly 25, 2012 at 1:07 PM

    Thanks so much!

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  14. SunniJuly 29, 2012 at 4:03 PM

    This is a beautiful dress and you look glorious in it! Great pocket idea and I love your thoughts on the skirt back and front. I too have some fluff and the skirt did accentuate it just a bit. Dreamy dress! Thanks so much for sewing along!
    xoxo, Sunni

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  15. MelanieJuly 30, 2012 at 11:46 AM

    Thanks, Sunni. And thank you again for hosting. It was such fun!

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  16. RebeccaSeptember 5, 2012 at 4:21 PM

    This is a gorgeous dress! It looks so chic and polished. I just found your blog via PR. I can't wait to see more of the things you create. :]

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  17. MelanieSeptember 5, 2012 at 5:03 PM

    Thanks for visiting, Rebecca! It's a great pattern. I'm glad you like my version.

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