Doctor T Designs

Although I’m not really “in it to win it” with the stash busting contest, I am having fun finding uses for fabrics that have been in my stash for quite some time.  Although I did like my first entry for the stash contest, I didn’t feel it was quite right for the party I was going to last week; I expect I’ll save that one for Christmas with the family, or one of the other parties I’ll be going to.  In the meantime, I’ve made up another dress, and this one everything comes from deep stash:

I’ve had this red and gold knit fabric in my stash for over 2 years, without any concrete plans.  It was one of those purchases that is too pretty to leave behind, but then doesn’t get sewn because you don’t really have a plan for it, but you don’t want to waste it either.  I was looking for a pattern that wouldn’t interrupt the geometric pattern of the fabric too much; I ended up choosing BurdaStyle 11-2015-113 for my dress:

Here is my official pattern review:

How long has your fabric been in your stash?  I bought this fabric on a whim during an LA shopping trip about 2.5 years ago.  It was always so pretty I knew I wanted to save it for something special, and with an upcoming holiday party, it seemed like the right time to break it out.  The lining has been in my stash about the same length of time.  The lining was originally purchased to make skating costumes.  I used 2 yards of each, for a total of 4 yards.

Why did you make this item?  Just for stash busting or was it in your queue anyways?  I made this dress to wear to a fancy holiday party.  I hadn’t intended to make this dress, but I thought it was a perfect combination of pattern and fabric, so I am really glad I decided to make it for this event.

Pattern Description: Women’s fitted dress with high collar, darts, and shoulder zip detail.

Pattern Sizing: Burda tall sizes 34-44.  I traced a size 40 at the shoulders, grading out to a 42 at the waist and something between a 44 and 46 at the hips.  Of course, I then took in about 6” off the side seams while fitting the dress, so, probably I could have made a 40/42 without the adjustments.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were pretty good, but this was a simple dress, so I didn’t follow them too much.  I also changed the tricky double zips to a simple back invisible zip, so I didn’t really read the instructions for those parts.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the envelope once you were done with it?  Yes, it’s a nice sheath dress with a collar.

What did you particularly like or dislike about this pattern?  Likes: Love the angled front darts – they worked perfect with the print of the fabric!  The dress has a lovely fit, and works well with a print fabric.  I also loved that it calls for a lining; it allows the machine blind-stitch to catch the lining fabric, making hems and facings invisible from the outside.  Dislikes: none.  I think I may need some better (shapewear) undergarments to go with this dress however.  I may also want to raise up the hem a bit as well.

Fabric used: A red crochet/gold glitter knit of some sort.  It was a remnant I bought for about $5/yard at Angel’s Textiles in the LA Garment District.  I used a majority of my fabric for perfect pattern matching, but I should have enough leftover to perhaps use for a color-blocked design, which I am very excited about.  The lining fabric is a nude mesh knit, which I originally got to use for skating costumes, but I really love using this sort of fabric for lining knit dresses.  I also used a 22” invisible zip, which I’ve had in my stash for about 2 years, which I got a a Fabric Mart sale in a zipper bundle.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I changed the double invisible zips to a center back invisible zip.  The zipper shoulder seems like a design feature for the shirt pattern that is similar to this dress, however, on the dress the double zips seemed like an unnecessary feature.  I also took in the side seams quite a bit.  In the model photo for 113, the dress looks quite fitted, but in the similar 114 style, the dress looks sort of baggy.  Hard to say if I had to take it in because the dress has a lot of ease, if my fabric was stretchier than intended, or because I’ve lost weight and haven’t quite settled on my pattern sizing yet.

Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?  I would definitely sew this dress again!  It is a perfect style for a patterned fabric, as there are minimal seams, but a great fit to the body.  I’d love to modify the neckline and sleeves in future variations, just for variety sake, but I’d also likely make this pattern as is with the perfect fabric.  I definitely recommend this pattern – it’s great!  And as a bonus, it’s the solid pink pattern, which makes it very easy to trace.

Conclusion: I love this dress!  The combination of pattern and fabric is just perfect.  I love this fabric, and I’m so pleased I was able to make something that really highlights the beautiful geometric pattern of the fabric.  I love this dress, and it was perfect for an elegant holiday event.  I’m excited to have it in my wardrobe, and I look forward to wearing it again soon!