Butterick 5382 Part 1

I really took my time with this dress, although in the end, I wish I had another day or two to fine tune the fit. But I'm still happy. I made a garment with a knit fabric, with sleeves, adjusted the shoulders, AND, I wore it in public! The fabric was perhaps not my first choice--I don't really like the pale colour, but I think I paid $5 at Value Village. It's a thin double knit (I think--it doesn't roll), but the inside is slinky nylon and the outside has a sueded feeling finish. It stuck to every little rough spot on my fingers, and to its self. It felt great when I put it on, but then I noticed when it was hanging up to dry, how see through it is! So, I had to wear a slip :( and it kept sticking to my nylons below the slip. These pictures are from the initial try-on; don't worry, I didn't go to the concert with my hair like that and wearing socks! It's supposed to be an empire waist, and I did add a bit to the bodice to make sure the seam wouldn't end up in the bust zone. I even added a little extra in case it needed adjusting. As you can see, there wasn't a problem! There is some problems with the fit of the back. I'm pretty sure I have a bit of a swayback. I left the center back seam in even though I wasn't putting in a zipper, so that I could make adjustments. I was worried about getting the dress on, being that it's fitted at the waist, but there was plenty of stretch. I tried clipping the excess together on the back with a hair clip before I took it off, and I still had no trouble getting it off. It's not too bad from a distance, although I think the back hangs a little lower. But up close you can see the baggy bits.

I tried pulling the skirt up higher, I tucked it into my bra, LOL, and although I sort of liked it from the front, it felt very maternity-ish. I also hadn't hemmed the skirt yet.

Holy cow, I can't believe how fat I looked when I pulled the skirt up! I was having a fat day anyway, but this is horrid.

I wish I had a local friend that would help me with pinning, etc. I'm sure my MIL probably would, or my SIL actually. But really, I'd like someone that lives next door, LOL. I'll show the finished results in the next post and some more thoughts about the dress/pattern.