Cute Dress Summer Rides Again! I got this blue check gingham kind of on a whim, and then looked for what to do with it. I decided that the Honeybourne from Cashmerette's Beyond the Curve book would look nice—the model's larger check and petticoat is adorable, and I kind of love the faux 50's vibe it gives.
I've never traced off a pattern quite like the ones included in the book, they're printed in blue and red with the pieces overlapped, to save paper/space, but i didn't find it difficult to trace off what i meant to. I'm so glad I actually bought proper "apparel design" paper, the grid helped me with laying out where to trace pieces off, it was a good match between see-through and durable.
The mockup came out pretty well, I didn't feel like I needed to futz, although looking at it with hindsite, i shouldn't have graded my waist to a size 20, despite the measurements suggesting it. (I'm not gonna start a collection of crop-tops anytime soon...) As usual, I took 2" off the skirt pieces, and ended up taking just shy of an inch off the sleeves, so they were actually elbow-length on me.
Getting to actual cutting, Spark decided to be a Very Good Helper.
The actual sewing was mostly quick and easy. I was a little bit in awe of just HOW MUCH skirt i needed to gather into the waistband, but patience saw me through.
My only complaint is the zipper instructions. The pattern calls for a hidden zipper, and I had not installed one before, but I have worn dresses with them, and the concept itself is not foreign to me. So when the instructions had me sew the zipper in with one line of stitches, and then flip the edge in, but not top-stitch any fabric over the top to hide the zip, I was confused, as heck! The pattern even explained how to set up the neck binding so the teeth stuck out the end, which clarified to me that it was intentional.
I am... a stubborn individual, so I adjusted things to my liking, hiding the zipper under what was approximately 1/8" of overlap.
I think it came out much better than all that zipper tape showing would have, and it still works just fine! (I need a hook and eye, still, I know!)
