Kwik Sew 3561 Revisited

I made this dress a couple years ago for a party with some gorgeous fabric from EOS. It sat in my closet because I thought it was too dressy for work. Well, I loved it so much I pulled it out last winter and ended up wearing it quite a bit.

Kwik Sew 3561

I decided I really wanted to try and make myself some more basics this year. I tend to make wild things but I really needed some simple things that I could dress up or down and mix and match. I decided to pull this pattern out. It's a great simple dress pattern with all of 4 pieces. The original has facings...yuck...facings on a knit! So I had planned on trying to bind the neckline but decided to go with a fun cowly neck like this Donna Karan dress which was kind of my inspiration. I lenghthened it obviously too. This pattern is pretty short.



My dress is sort of similar but it was the gist I was going for not a total knockoff. I bought the fabric on ebay from High End Fabrics and I love it. It's probably considered a slub knit or a burnout, not sure which. But the base of it is grey with purple bits.




I'm already planning on a couple more of these for layering in the winter. I'm a lot busier in the morning these days with my added workout so I need some quick, easy, stylish things to throw on for work.

Butterick 5677

Back from the dead...or at least from vacation, a tooth abscess and a crazy job!!! I've been so busy since I got back I haven't had much time to sew but a few minutes here and there. I cut this out before I left.

This took quite awhile. It's easy, but a bit time consuming with all the piecing. I had really wanted to do it contrasting and I might give it another whirl. I like the shape of the dress a lot. I hate the fabric I chose! It's a ponte and we all know all pontes are not created equal. This one is very polyester and the puckering at the seams is driving me crazy!!! I've pressed and pressed but they won't go away.

If I do make it again, I will use something with less poly in it. I didn't line it so I kind of cheated but I wanted to see if I liked it first. If I make it again, I will do the whole thing.

This is a 16, with about an inch taken off the shoulders for my short waist. There is too much stuff going on to do a short waist adjustment I think. And I took in the hips. It kind of had a tulip look to it which I didn't think was right. Easy fix though.

It's a great dress. Lots of bang for the buck and the shaping is very nice. I think I would like to try it in some low contrast fabrics, like a black and a dark blue, or blue and gray.