Chambray Dress (FROM HELL)

OK, it's probably not entirely fair to say this chambray dress was from hell. It was just definitely at a more advanced skill level than I'm used to and as a result, I spent about as much time ripping out stitches as I did putting them in. I think the end result is passable though, don't you?

This is one of the biggest projects I've ever sewed that wasn't made out of a knit. This is big for me. This is a thin chambray I originally bought to make a winter dress, but since winter is long gone I adapted for a spring dress pattern I had.


Some good things I've noticed about sewing with not-knits:

• Cutting out pattern pieces is easier
• Seams do not pucker
• Ironing does not melt the fabric
• Everything is easier

OK, you'd think the jury would rule clearly in favor of not-knits. However, here are some downsides:

• Edges fray A LOT. Usually I just finish seams by a zig-zag stitch over the edge, but if I have to use this fabric again I'd probably roll the edges under to finish them more prettily.
• You have to use a zipper.

More on that zipper later.

This pattern was a gift to me from my mom who scored a bunch of patterns when Jo-Ann's was having one of their crack addict sewing enthusiast sales and every pattern was $2. It looked pretty enough on the envelope, so we decided to take a stab at it one weekend while she was in town visiting. It was Simplicity "Amazing Fit" 1800. 

I wasn't sure about the weird neckline, but I liked that it had sleeves and POCKETS! The princess seams lined up with the pocket lines in this really pretty curved line too. 

The "Amazing Fit" part of it was that you could customize the pattern for different bra sizes and body types. While this is awesome and did in fact ensure that the bust line and hip line of my dress fit perfectly, it resulted in literally 4x as many pattern pieces to comb through to discover the right one. I accidentally threw away one of the sleeve pieces (AAACK) but luckily I don't empty my sewing room trash can all that often and I was able to rescue it once I realized it was missing. 

This pattern was HARD. It contained four things that I'm really bad at:

1. Zippers
2. Pockets 
3. Darts
4. LININGS

I do think I'm getting a lot better at pockets, but the zipper was supposed to be invisible and is definitely... not.

Look at that zipper, not being invisible in the slightest.

Dress bottom with beginning of bodice

It also had a fully lined bodice. I thought this would be easy enough at first. Make 2 copies of every bodice piece, sew them together backwards, and flip them inside out like a pillow case, right? NO! This pattern wanted me to sew them together on the neckline, then flip it like a pillow case, then sew the rough edges together. Why?? Oh right, to make the stupid weird wing sleeves attach properly. Also, the pattern failed to devise a clever way of sewing the bottom of the bodice lining shut, so it required me to hand sew the entire inside of the waistline. Seems like pretty bad planning. 

The entire pattern was full of bad planning. It actually put in the step by step directions that you should sew everything wrong side out, try it on, adjust, then rip out all your seams and sew it together correctly. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. But because they confused me, I ended up ripping out a hell of a lot of seams. Thanks, Simplicity.

In the end, it took me two months (of casual here-and-there sewing) to complete this dress. The sleeves are too big and the neckline gapes on me (small shoulders - will have to figure out how to adjust patterns for this), but the rest of it fits great. The pockets are very cute, but also kind of shallow. Guess they're more just for bragging rights.

Finished product

So I guess my take away from this project is you should probably read the instructions BEFORE you tackle a project that's too difficult for your skill level. If I make this pattern again, I'll probably keep the bottom half of the dress and do a very simple tank top style for the top instead of the weird bodice with wing sleeves. Maybe I can also adopt it for a knit....