Sometimes projects don’t turn out to be a success. This is one example.
In the spring of 2018 my plan was to introduce a new casual dress into Maya’s wardrobe. It did not seem to be a difficult task, because I have already sewn a few successful jersey dresses for her using a Rundschau draft. I was given a few meters of this lovely red floral print jersey by Fabricville. I was exited.
It is when I chose to use Jalie’s V-neck top (2682) as a base and lengthen it, where the problems started creeping in. I measured Maya’s favourite dress for length. I copied Jalie’s front and back pattern pieces and added to the bottom, flaring at the side seems. I modified the sleeve (length and cuff) to match her favourite dress. I started to put the dress together, carefully matching the print across the chest. Everything seemed fine.
The dress together, Maya tried it. It was too long – an easy fix. However, Maya did not like the look of the dress in the top part, or probably the balance of all design and modification decisions: length, fullness, sleeve, etc. The bust seem ran across her chest and did not look flattering at all. The fullness in the skirt appeared in the sides only. The sleeves were too long.
Despite the impression the pattern gave at the selection process, the agreement we achieved at the design stage, my best efforts in careful construction and the ease of following the pattern instructions, the project became a house dress. Maya did not even agree to be photographed in it.
My personal lesson: stick with the proven and trusted patterns; use correct pattern modification techniques.