A Dress! With Sleeves and Pockets!

Awhile ago I had seen a photo in the FB "George + Ginger" group of the "Riki Dress". Everyone was gushing over it, but it was "retired". I don't really get the idea of retiring patterns. They're online. What's there to retire? I know sometimes they retire early patterns as they become better designers, use different software, or tweak their size blocks. But why retire a pattern that everyone loves? They then brought it back a little bit later--so I wonder if it was a marketing ploy (like, Stitch Upon A Time's "Spoxxy" tank getting a one day re-release, and then coming back a month later as a totally new updated pattern). I jumped on the chance to buy this dress during the short sale.

I had a few options for fabric. I really wanted to do colour blocking, but felt I should do a "wearable muslin" first since other than the Lovesick Bra, I hadn't made any of their patterns. I don't really fit their sizes though, so a muslin was important. Plus...a FBA on princess seams...Had I done that before? I know I tried to make a princess seamed dress in the summer of 2010, but there were no blog posts. I finally found it blogged in 2011.  I really wish that dress had worked. It was a great pattern, nice fabric, I love the look, etc, but too many issues from trying to fix it. I worked on another version of this dress, but the blog post indicated I still had a lot of trouble and the FBA was difficult. I also really liked that dress. I got rid of both of these when I lost some weight and started sewing better fitting items. Sometimes you can't just keep taking in seams!

Oh yes, back to the fabric. I was sure I had seen a picture where someone did a striped fabric, but had the stripes one way for the centre, and the other way for the sides. Couldn't find that photo again, and my fabric didn't have the greatest vertical stretch, so I worried that might be an issue. A lot of the dresses shown used black for the side panels, but my black is a cotton-lycra and this fabric was likely a poly-blend (shiny). So, I just went for all one fabric.

I followed a tutorial for the FBA. I think it was a mash up of https://sewoverit.co.uk/elsie-sewalong-full-bust-adjustment-princess-seams/ and http://curvysewingcollective.com/princess-seams-an-fba-for-large-busts/  There are LOTS of tutorials for how to do this now. Not so much in 2010!!
I think I also took out a smidge in the upper bodice and sleeves.

 It all went together super fast! The only issue were the large pockets. I saw pictures of others complaining that the pocket sagged. The suggestion was to make the pocket pieces narrower. I tried that on one side, but it still sagged and now pulled in the seams a little. So I experimented with a safety pin, to mimic a snap. I polled my girls, and they said the side with the snap looked better. I couldn't do anything about the side I had already taken in, so I just put a snap on it, and didn't bother to adjust the other pocket.

 The sleeves are long. I think I did the 3/4 sleeves and they were full length on me. So I took some elastic pieces (I keep all my elastic scraps, just for these sorts of things), and ruched both sides of each sleeve. It was tricky, since the sleeves were already seamed, and I thought about taking out the seam, but just persevered.

 Since I wanted this for teaching, I kept the longer length. Some of G+G's designs seem really short!
This is the angle most of the world sees. Okay, the world over 6'2". But most of the world is still taller than me. I would prefer a slighter more open neckline. Got to be careful though, don't want students taller than me looking down, or have it gape when I lean over a desk!!
My husband won a very significant award from Ontario Power Generation (OPG; the provincial corporation that creates electrical power in Ontario) and this dress was perfect for the "business casual" dress of the award ceremony. The day started with a tour of a hydro electric generating station, and we had to wear flat shoes. I wore my Sketchers that are a little more dressy than a sneaker.

Instead of plain black snaps, I used Snoopy. I've always loved Snoopy cartoons and I love adding whimsical touches to my teaching outfits! I wore this dress to a high school recently, but never got to show anyone the snaps LOL.

I do find that even my phone is too heavy for the pocket. Tissues, room key, cough drops are fine.

I want to make more of these...but G+G are having a sale right now and I see a couple contenders. I like the  Daydream Dress and then I saw the Sassy Side Top!  How the heck to do a FBA on that? And my waist is way bigger than the size I would pick going by the upper bust. It wasn't an issue with the Riki because the FBA added enough and there was also pattern ease at the waist. The Sassy Side Top is really slim fitting. I've had a hard time finding tops to wear with my leggings, and this might work. I was going to order the SoTa last weekend during their debut sale, but it was Thanksgiving here and I missed the deadline.

And then in my email this morning, was this new pattern!   I thought Peek-a-Boo used a curvier block, but the sizing seems to be the same as G+G. However, the ruching is lower and the side piece goes straight down, so a FBA might be easier on this one. I don't need ruching over the bust, as evident in the Plitvice  (which I still love, and wear, but would modify next time). I think I will get the  Astoria because it includes the hood and cowl. And, I can probably modify the side panel to make it swoop like the Sassy Side Top. Now, I've got to find the time to sew!! And, I need some thick tights and/or some tall boots. That's been a challenge. My legs are too skinny and short!