Glam Up a Dress

It is holiday party time again.  My plan was to wear a dress made in a previous year,  but that went out the window when I did a try on of the dresses in my closet.  All okay, but not exciting.   Butterick pattern 5780 was lying on the top of the pattern pile, having been a recent purchase.

 I bought it for the style lines of the neckline. It is described as” the bodice side front bodice extending into back collar”   I have pictures of similar necklines in my inspiration file.

Christian Dior Jacket

Pattern Magic 2

  I thought it would be interesting to make the side front and back out of a different fabric, something sparkly and festive,  that coordinated with the fabric used for the other parts of the dress. It would give the illusion of wearing a short jacket over a scoop neck dress.  The dress is made out of a medium weight ponte knit from Hancock. The coordinating fabric I made myself by layering a sheer fabric over the ponte knit.  I auditioned three sheer fabrics with the  black knit fabric.

 My favorite was a flocked scroll design on a sheer woven.  I chose a sequined tulle instead because the tulle stretched like the knit I was going to use as a base.  I cut the tulle and the  ponte knit using the same pattern pieces, layered the tulle on top of the ponte, serged around the edge to hold the two pieces together and treated them as one for the rest of the construction process. I did not have to remove any sequins from the seam allowance like I did for another recent project.  The sequins on this tulle were tiny and scattered.  They did not cause any problem with serging or sewing. Sigh, this project reminded me of why I do not sew Butterick patterns very often.  The neck, shoulders, bust and torso length always require so many alteration to fit me. Ultimately I used my sloper and drafted the bodice pattern from scratch, but copied the Butterick style lines.  It was a good learning experience.  I did use lining/stay pieces in the bodice  just as the pattern did. They are necessary to hold that fold in place as it starts at the bust and wraps around the neck.  I used the pattern skirt pattern with my bodice.  I did  not insert a zipper. The dress pulls over my head easily.