Tale of Two Dresses Part 3

Ms BTTB proving that No One is
Better Than the Best

The excitement of the two dresses just never ends! Ms Better Than The Best (Ms BTTB) recently sent me a photo of her wearing her dress from the night of the Big Event. This was taken pre-party.

The "fun element" for the night was a masked dance - reminiscent of the old Regency era masked balls, but with shorter dresses, and very few Earls and Viscounts. Instead of wearing her feathery eye-piece on her face, Ms BTTB turned hers into a fascinator and wore it on her head, a la Royal wedding guest hat. Cute, isn't it? More than one fellow guest wished they'd come up with that idea for theirs.

            - Lady T

The Tale of Two Dresses - Part 2

Pin-basted together with the darts on the outside.
Getting a feel for the hem length.

Nothing is more inspiring than success!

After her triumph with the black knit party dress, Ms Better Than the Best was eager to sew again. She decided a sheath dress (or two or three) would be a great addition to her wardrobe. A good-fitting sheath dress flatters the curvy figure and makes getting dressed in the morning a cinch. With a tested tried ’n’ true pattern, Ms BTTB knew she could create some interesting variations on a theme with different necklines and fabrics.

Finding a good basic sheath dress pattern proved to be harder than expected. Several “almosts” had full skirts, or slits, or weird design lines, or no sleeves. Finally she found one she liked: McCalls 2401. It features bust and waist darts, straight skirt, sleeves and a simple neckline. Unfortunately it is not one of the pick-your-cup-size patterns.

Deciding which size to use is a challenge for anyone, but it’s especially hard for a curvy girl. Using the full bust measurement is a recipe for disaster. In the end, she chose the size she thought would best fit her shoulders and neckline, and would do the full bust adjustment for the bodice. A good solution, especially as I was around to help drape-fit the pattern.

After a quick tissue-fitting, and pattern altering, the dress was cut out of muslin and basted together. Not bad, but the darts needed adjusting, which is easy to do in the muslin format because you can add or cut away fabric. While I was working on one side of the dress, I could see the fabric was trying to form French darts. (French darts start from the side seam, around the waist, and  angle up to the bust. It’s a very flattering line.) I pinned it out and we took a look. Nice!

Close-up of the two French darts, pin-basted together on the
outside. I like the way they subtly shape the dress.

Just for fun, I split the French dart into two – one above the other – and the result was gorgeous! From the one pattern, Ms BTTB now has two looks – the standard bust-and-waist-darts, and the draped French darts.

Unfortunately, our sewing time ran out before we finished the project. For our final fitting, the French dart dress, cut out of the fashion fabric, was pin-basted together with the darts on the right side. The lines looked good on this inside-out version, and appeared to be in the right place. So far, so good.

I’m eagerly awaiting the finished version.

      - Lady T

Tale of Two Dresses, Part 1

Nobody's Better Than the Best! (aka Ms BTTB)

Sometimes I think I fret too much – sweat the small stuff. The thought gained momentum recently when I was lucky enough to catch some quality sewing time with my youngest daughter.

An aside: In a past post, I referred to my youngest daughter as DD#3, which, strictly speaking she is, but she is much, much more than that, so I wanted blog-name that would better reflect her wonderfulness. This is a tad difficult, since I already picked the perfect name for her at birth. Then I remembered a handle she gave herself when she was young, said in one long, loud, fast breath, “I’m The Best and Nobody’s Better Than the Best!” (Can you picture her siblings’ reactions?) For brevity’s sake, I’m going to use the initials from the last part of that long-winded moniker, Better Than the Best, so I hereby christen her Ms BTTB. The Best would be a simpler nickname but if I wrote that, her siblings might develop strange notions about our family dynamics that would take years of intense therapy to undo.

A second aside: I am also a DD#3, and I was called The Boss. Hmmmmm.

Anyhoo, back on topic....

Ms BTTB had a fancy function to attend – a masked dance. My poor little Cinderella had a flat wallet. However, in her cupboard, she had a long length of black cotton-spandex knit material (aka t-shirt fabric). With only an idea in her head (no pattern) for a drapey dress, she chopped, chopped, chopped into that fabric and made basically two rectangles. Gathering it on one side about halfway down, she sewed it together, leaving the prerequisite spaces for head and arms and legs. Ms BTTB tried it on, decided it was butt ugly, and tossed the homely thing in the corner.

Time passed. Unfortunately, her wallet didn’t gain any weight. Necessity being the Mother of Invention, she picked it up, dusted it off, and tried it on again. Assessing the design, Ms Better Than The Best decided she liked the cowl neckline, but lumpy, dumpy middle ruined the silhouette. She pinched, she twisted, she created magic. When she was finished, Ms BTTB had an interesting asymmetrical, sleeveless, cowl-neck dress. The addition of a bit of bling on the side twist took the garment up that final notch. Voila! A gorgeous dress!



Button sewn on the edge of cowl

However, don’t focus too closely on the finishing detail. The seams... well, they stayed together. The hem... unfinished is au courant. The super-long facing in the back... turns out it helps smooth bra-band area nicely.

Button creating weight - imagine
it hidden inside

Button hooked on bridge of bra, creating
a stationary, non-risque neckline

One detail was sheer brilliance. On the bottom of the cowl, Ms BTTB sewed on a small clear button. It adds weight, so the cowl hangs nicely. Better still, the button can be tucked into the bridge of the bra, creating a sharp, low V that stays in place and doesn’t show anything. Nada.

Ready to party!

What I love best is the joie de vie that went into this creation. Sure, the dress spent some time balled up in the corner. But enthusiasm started the project, and enthusiasm finished the dress. With the goal firmly in mind, BTTB went at it, full steam ahead. She put her heart in it.

I wanna sew like that.
    
         - Lady T