I saw this rainbow-on-black double gauze at Joann, and thought it'd be great for the Hallon dress by Paradise Patterns. I wore it out on a 110F+ day (during a week of excessive heat warnings - ouch) and it was nice and airy.
(See more photos at the end of the post.)
Size / View:
View A. My body measurements were closest to a size 4. Since there is so much ease down at the hem though, I graded from a size 4 bust to a size 0 hem.
For reference, my measurements are:
- Bust: 34.5"
- High Bust: 32.5"
- Waist: 29"
- Hip: 37.5"
- Height: 5' 0"
Fabric:
Double gauze from Joann.
Adjustments / Construction:
- Given the ample ease of this pattern, I chose not to do a muslin for this garment. It's like garment sewing chicken?
- Since I wanted retain the crinkly right-out-of-the-dryer texture of the double gauze, I didn't iron the fabric before I cut and sewed, except for the bias binding around the neck and arms.
- As drawn on the pattern, the bust darts were a little too pointy on me. I extended the bust darts by about 1" to 1.25" and that seemed to solve the issue for me.
- The pattern is drafted for someone who is 5' 7", so I had to shorten the pattern by 7" and following the instructions, I took 1/3 of that off the back curve and 2/3 off the bottom of the back piece. I actually rounded down to 2.25" and 4.5" to make it easy. Plus I took the full 7" off the front piece, below the dart and above the hem.
- I also had to remember to remove the difference from the gathered back curve. For this, I loosely followed the instructions, but also eyeballed what looked good and even tried it on once or twice (pinned/held together) to test out how the back gather looked.
- The pattern doesn't have an O-ring in the straps like you see in mine - I was trying to add in adjustable straps, then scrapped that plan when I realized the straps weren't long enough for that. I kept the O-rings though.
Likes:
- Flowy design with low back was good for a hot day.
- I chose to add a belt when I wore this out to define my waist, and wore it with a pair of wedge sandals.
- Since I chose to use double gauze, which was already textured, going bra-less was not obvious or a big deal, which I was a little worried about. In a different more smooth fabric, I might have felt differently though!
Next Time:
- Try View B, perhaps in a satin-like fabric or a rib knit.
- Add a shelf bra, depending on the fabric choice.
- Lower the front neckline by 1". Since there is more material in the back, it does weigh the back down a bit and cause the front to ride up. I saw someone mention this online that they compensated for this by lowering the front neckline. (I actually did end up doing this on a subsequent Hallon dress I made for a friend)
- Instead of serging exposed seams, do French seams. (I also ended up doing this on the Hallon dress I subsequently made for a friend)
