The 4 x 1 June Challenge


Hello friends,

Perhaps foolishly, I have decided to join in The Naked Seamstress's 4 x 1 June Challenge. Essentially, make four dresses in one month. Let me begin by saying that I am fully intending to cheat a little. June is a CRAZY month for me to take on any challenge, but most months are, so what's a little more crazy, really?

I have a dress that is complete except for the zipper and the hems. But it has been like this for close to a year now. I need someone to pin me into the dress and then mark the center back seamline (and the hem), and my husband is no help. So the task of finding someone to help and then actually meeting with them and then doing the work of installing the zipper and stitching up the hem will take nearly as long as starting a simpler dress from scratch. (I feel I should add that my eight-year-old son told me this is STILL cheating.)

In preparation for sewing, I made a muslin of long out-of-print Simplicity 8884 - a very basic princess seam dress with no waist seam (from my mother-in-law's collection). And here is where I show you what I look like in the morning when the very first thing I have done is head to the sewing machine.

Puffy morning face!

Bedhead!

Hello crooked back!

So, looking at these photos, I want to change the neckline like so (drawn in orange):

The orange lines at my shoulders indicate what the shoulders should look like.

Mostly it's the back that has me wondering. Because my spine/pelvis/hips/legs/whatever is uneven, the dress appears to pull to one side. I am wondering if I simply shift the seamlines of the back side panels if this would fix the visual problem.


Do you experienced folks out there think that shifting the seamlines will do the job? I'm going to give it a go on my muslin and see how it turns out.

I plan to make this dress out of a black batik which is a fair bit stiffer than the old old bedsheet I used for the muslin.  At present, I do not know if I will line the finished dress or use facings. I will probably line it with Bemberg, since that will make the dress far more wearable in our mild climate.

I also have plans for a tie-dye cotton jersey dress from BurdaStyle 05-2010-105. Based on the reviews, I might need to figure a way to make the lower edge of the armhole higher. Maybe I will be able to trace this dress today!

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Comments

Stephanie said…
A little cheating is allowed! :) I think the muslin looks very good and will certainly make for a pretty dress. Looking forward to seeing the finished dress!
Thanks, Stephanie!

I did try the adjustments to the back, but it didn't really make things better, so I think I am just going to leave well enough alone and trust that in a black batiked fabric with a black invisible zipper, nothing will be noticeable.

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