Lace in Bloom

Pattern: Burda Young's Fashion Jacket #8042 + McCall's Misses' Tops #M6164 + KwikSew's Misses' Dress #3778
Fabric: cotton knit lace, underlined with a cotton knit
Cost: $22


I've been really enamored with sheer lace dresses lately. In my bathroom is Jessica Alba's January cover for Glamour Mexico, and I love that dress! But even after a trip to the lace and bridal supply store, I couldn't find anything that would work for me. While my regular haunt doesn't usually carry lace, this time I found a magnificent and thick cotton one--on sale at that! I don't usually wear pink, but in this case it was just too good to pass up. I bought a blush/tan colored cotton knit--also on sale!--that I used to underline the lace.

The pattern was another Frankenstein of Burda, KwikSew and McCall's. I cut a three-quarter length sleeve and arm hole from the Burda jacket pattern, but ended up never using it because it just seemed like too much fabric. I know a jacket pattern is also probably an odd choice for a fitted dress, but it's one of the only sleeve patterns I've got. The McCall's pattern I used as usual because it fits my hips and I added in the Kwik Sew skirt because last time I made a non-stretch dress out of McCall's knit pattern I had to add extra fabric. I cut extra allowance for a back zipper, but because the cotton lace was actually a knit, it was stretchy enough to pull over my head (this left the hassle of running a large dart down the back to replace the zipper).


Here's my dress from the side with the back-dart and my big booty (ok, I ended up having to take the booty in a little bit):

While tight stretch dresses should be second nature to me now, the more I do them the more I realize that I know very little about how to adjust for fit. I am mostly self-taught so I have my ways, but I'm beginning to think there are better techniques out there. I just discovered the blog Pattern ~ Scissors ~ Cloth, which is an excellent read for all things pattern-making.

My other miscalculation was that I decided to do French seams with all four layers of the fabric. In order to reduce bulk, I ran a zig-zag stitch down each seam allowance and tacked it to the lining. This seemed to help.

I used the selvage of the lace as my dress hem, as this gave it a nice, bulk-free finish that I didn't have to worry about sewing. The lining I left unhemmed because it is a knit, so it won't ravel and usually looks better unhemmed anyway.

I finished the armholes and neck opening by zig-zagging the lace and lining together and folding it under once. 



For a quick weekend dress, I'm quite happy with the results! (And ready for spring.)


Check it out at BurdaStyle and PatternReviews.com.

5 comments:

  1. I am jealous of so many of your fabric finds, but especially this one! I can never find laces that don't look grandma-y. Where did you get it?

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  2. That is absolutely stunning!!! I have never sewn lace knit, but I am just going to have to do so. That is so elegant and pretty!!

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  3. Another wonderful composition. The seams show no bulk. No mistake there....just an alternative. Great piece.

    Mike

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  4. Thanks everyone--and I finally finished this post so more of the details are there! I like to buy my fabric in Berkeley at Stone Mountain and Daughters. If you're ever in the area, they have a great sale section!

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  5. And laces can always look grandma-y, it's just a matter of how you use them (and why I didn't end up putting sleeves on this one). So don't be afraid--go for it!

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