dress success!

So... (drumroll please)... here it is! It's actually not quite finished; I've only done half the hem, but you can't see the pins poking me in the knees. And I truly don't know what's going on with my hair in this picture.

I made a bunch of changes to the pattern, actually. Mainly, I attached the facings to all the neck and midriff band pieces - on the theory it would be easier to match up my sloppy notches when they weren't attached to the dress - which caused the front not to match up perfectly, so I lapped it a tiny bit and hand sewed it. (Maybe I'll put in some hook-and-eyes later, or frogs.) And I cut the front skirt piece about 2 inches wider and gathered it extra (would have been good if I'd remembered to increase the skirt band as well). And, instead of hemming both long edges of the waist ties, I just folded the whole mess in half and sewed a single seam. (This allowed me to do less pressing, which is my second least favorite thing about sewing, after cutting out the pieces.) While you could conceivably cut out the side skirt pieces on the fold, thereby eliminating another seam, I left it as it was and added pockets (I think Dress a Day Girl would approve).

See, Mom? That Sewing with Nancy book is really coming in handy now.

The bodice and skirt is a silky polyester, which was rather ravelly. If I use that type of fabric again, I'll zigzag the edges first (it turns out I can do that) or pink the edges with pinking shears or try French seams (Nancy makes them seem really easy). Or, I'll save myself the trouble and use a nice, non-ravelly cotton, (geishas, anyone?) The midriff bands are a heavier polyester suiting material, which I think works well with the style of the dress - the skirt band, especially, needs a little weight to it I think.

I'm already plotting what I can sew next, since I still don't have any photos to scrap (and whatever I do have I need to save for the Event). Unfortunately I've discovered Amy Butler fabrics, which are so gorgeous and pretty (do they remind anyone else of the new American Crafts papers?) but are 9 dollars a yard (yowch!) Still, it may be worth it. I scored a pair of these shoes in brown (they were marked down to $5! they had one pair! they were my size!) and I don't really have anything to wear with them. Hey, if I managed to make a dress in 3 days, maybe I can do it again?!