Flouncy White Dress- First Pix in Chicago!

Just to recap, this was my pattern inspiration. An Azzaro cotton dress that cost $2,741. Lol. I "drafted" my own pattern for this one, sort of. I used the bodice of the pattern I am going to make my grey interview dress out of, to test for fit. That turned out to be wise, since I really need to shorten the bodice at least an inch. The sleeves I drafted on paper to be five lump scallops. The skirt is just a drindl, a big rectangle gathered at the waist and the ruffle is the same. 

 On to construction:
It was easy to make. I originally did the side-boob darts, but this fabric was a pain. It really likes to stretch out on the diagonal. So I ended up with some wildly pointing uneven lines. I took them out and left it loose. Instead of waist darts, I made small gathers like the inspiration dress. It's not very obvious, but it makes the bodice looser. The back has waist darts. Pictures were taken walking the dog to the river, which sis a few blocks away.

 All layers of this dress are doubled up because the fabric was so sheer. I thought it would be pretty lightweight, but it is rather heavy. The bodice and back were done first and turned right side out because the fabric also frays terribly. I then made the sleeves (again, doubled) and just top-stitched them down. They are floppy and cute.

 The waistband is about an inch wide and drops a little below my natural waist line. Fortunately not to the "dropped waist" point that I hate so much (and Lisette- I know I am not the only one!)

 The skirt was easy to make. It is double layer rectangle that I gathered at the waist to the appropriate size. I then added the bottom ruffle to it. The ruffle was easy because it is just folded in half and attached, so there was no need to hem! Yay!

 Below you can see the Molly's Ew for this project. I put in the metal zipper in a very half-assed, on-the-machine-with-no-basting fashion, and you reap what you sew. (Edit- I went back to spell sow correctly, but I made a pun! By accident! It stays.) So I have an incongruous, semi-exposed zipper on a girly dress. Meh, at least it's a side zipper. Maybe the lump of hair on the back of my head will distract you!

While slightly warm for today's 93 degree weather, I am sure it will get a lot of use. The ruffle bounces while I walk and it looks very nice. Overall, pretty nice and I'm glad to be finished with it.

Is anyone else obsessed with the weather on their phone? I have New Orleans (77 rain), Chicago (93), Salem, Or  (parents- 67 rain) and Ulsan, South Korea (brother- 75 nighttime). I find it really interesting to compare the weather in my four places of interest. I would add Paris, but the weather there remind me very much of Oregon- gray and rainy.

Anyways, I made a curtain for the bedroom, so soon I will have some of the house to show you. I am also reading a play in French to try to improve my French, since I have been applying to French and History job openings. More on that later!