Wearing My New Look 6184 Dress

完成したワンピース、着てみました。
一日会社で着てみた感想は、うーん、ちょっとゆるめすぎたかな？オケツ回りや胸の下が結構ガバガバしていました。大食いする予定な時に着たらちょうどいいかも。

Recap of my New Look 6184 dress.

I made View D with square neck line and straight skirt. This was a difficult pattern to fit for some reason. I originally began working on this pattern a year ago. After a couple of muslins, I ditched it, and it sat on a shelf for a year. I started from scratch this time, and made 2 muslins with bunch of alterations.

For the skirt front, I cut size 16 at waist and graded down to 12 at hip.
For the skirt back, I cut size 12.
I shortened the skirt by 1 1/2". (I am 5'3")
Bodice is mainly size 12, with bodice back waist being size 16 to match the skirt.
I raised the armscye by 1/2", took in the side seam at underarm 1/2" (and nothing at waist).
I pinched about 3/4" at center front.
Center back was pinched 3/4" at back neck (and nothing at waist), and I had to pinch 1/4 more at the very top.

I lined the entire dress so I did not use the facing patterns. I did fuse interfacing at zipper seam, neck line and vent.

The fabric is Amy Butler's cotton poplin. The pattern and the fabric was purchased from Craftsy as a kit when it was on sale.

The lining fabric is a 30+ years old kimono undergarment fabric from my mother's stash. According to my mother, it is wool, and it did shrink considerably after a regular cycle wash and dryer. Since the fabric was only 13" wide (and less than 12" wide after the wash), the bodice and the skirt front has a center seam.

After wearing it all day at work, I still found the fitting not perfect. It is actually fairly loose fitting especially front bodice and hip and back waist. It feels slightly dowdy. I think the fabric print helps to cover up the fitting issues. This would be a good dress to pick if I am going to a big dinner. The back neck is still gaping a bit, and front neck is pretty loose.

The other reason why I feel slightly dowdy in this dress is the fabric. Nice cotton, LOVE the print, but no drape. The feel of the cotton makes the dress feel a bit home-ec.

Two things I am very proud of:
1. The pattern matching. Even I can hardly tell there is a waist seam.
2. My very first vent. I did mess it up but the mess is hidden so it does not count.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my attachment of lining to the zipper could be improved, but overall, this was a good learning experience to line a whole dress. I'm still not sure what the best way to line a dress with center back zipper and a vent is. I think I need to make a few more lined dresses to understand the best order of construction and method to line with professional look, especially with a vent.