May 20, 2015

French Floral ESP Dress










I made this dress way back in March at Sewing Retreat.  On day one of retreat - I tag teamed 2 blue ESP dresses.  So far there are only photos of one. 

As is my habit, I traced all the pattern pieces.  Also habit is to take 1.5" out of the back length - I'm very short from my neck to waist in the back.  Finally - the last thing I do routinely is to add length to the skirt.   I made one muslin of the bodice only before cutting out 'real' fabric.  

The muslin showed that I needed to move the side darts down slightly, move the shoulder darts forward and - I felt - the sleeves were too full.  You can see from the photos that my sleeves are very wrinkled from being stuffed in a cardigan.  ( I forgot to modify the facings to match the fact that I moved the shoulder darts forward, but nobody knows!)






















This dress is very easy to wear.  Even though the skirt is quite full, it doesn't feel horribly full and I think that could be based on the thinness of the cotton fabric.  And yet, it feels full, feminine and flirty.  Those are important qualities in a dress for me.  












I swear the hem hangs even, regardless of the fact that it doesn't look like it does in the side view.  Remember how I mentioned that I added length to the skirt?  Well - I added as much as my fabric would allow, which on this version was 4", then I took a 2" hem all around.  I don't recall  how large of a hem the pattern calls for - but I think adding length was a good idea.

On me, I feel like the neckline is quite high.  I reached out to the Decades of Style team and honestly - they were prompt and incredibly helpful.  I'm so very pleased with the customer service.  I have another version cut and mostly sewn up - but vacation got in the way.  Speaking of vacation - I wore this dress to Gibraltar and the Statue of Liberty and she did very well.

Verdict - I will make more versions of this dress.  What's your favorite style of dress to make over and over?

10 comments :

  1. What an absolutely lovely dress, gMarie! The fabric is gorgeous and that color is divine on you. I love it! This pattern is sitting in my "to sew" pile and just moved up, thanks to this post. I can't wait to see your second blue dress!

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  2. Love the dress. I don't sew for myself, I order from Talbots..... But I did make a gorgeous Mary Poppins costume yesterday.

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  3. This dress is fabulous and i am about to start one of my own. I've been dragging my feet a bit since I know that I would like to lower the neckline- did you do that on your second version? It seems like it will either cause the shoulder to widen or I will also have to adjust the sleeve piece, so any advice is welcome! Thats good to know about the sleeves also, I just asked Tanya today if she found them to be too wide to layer with a cardi because it seemed like it would be a problem. Thanks for all the info on this pattern, I can't wait to make one myself.

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  4. Did JB take these pictures? Cause they are awesome! They show both you and the dress to the best advantage and you & the dress look beautiful! Tell JB I said he did a great job!!!

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  5. Ditto everything Mary said above. Such a great dress and colors for you.I agree that the skirt is definitely not TOO full but still full enough to be very feminine and pretty.

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  6. Yay! I love this on you!! Such pretty fabric, too. I'm hankering to make myself another one with a lowered neckline.

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  7. It looks very pretty, swingy and feminine. And if it makes you feel pretty, that's the most important thing of all!

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  8. It does look really fabulous on you!!! I think this is one that you can definitely own several of!

    I don't make many dresses but so far I love seams at the natural waist, but not waistbands. And love wrap fronts! :)

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  9. So pretty - you and the dress! I can't answer your questions because I don't sew, but I prefer straight, slim skirts. Right now, I don't know that I own anything with an even slightly full skirt.

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I appreciate you coming to see me. It may take me a bit to publish your comment - but I will get to them by the end of every day. If you leave a way for me to get back to you, I will. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your opinions. g

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