Strapless Cherry Dress with full skirt or I've been a good student of the sewing school of life- I won't be naughty and rush a frock again!!

I was sent back to school on this one!

Lesson No.1
Never make a garment in a hurry with unrealistic timeframe

Lesson No.2
Pattern matching requires tracing paper

Lesson No.3
Don't make a circle skirt when you're short on fabric.

Lesson No.4
Patternmatching takes additional fabric (see lesson No.3)



 The bodice on this strapless cherry frock is based on Burda  The Bustier Dress with Draped Detail 5/2011 #122A (see the one I posted previously http://missjsews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/tiki-dress-perfect-bombshell-dress.html the skirt is a basic circle skirt from Butterick B6019 as I was so short on time I didn't want to take time to draft my own.

Did I mention that there is horsehair braid and boning in this one.  All stuff that you do when you're in a hurry right???

The cotton lining

I was so fixated on getting the frock finished to wear to my event that I rushed headlong into this project.  On the bodice I managed to pattern match the back but at the bust and side bodice pieces I opted to try and place the cherries in a nice way.

Looking back, I could, with tracing paper and more fabric and time have matched the pattern across many of the bodice seams. Can you believe I sat through a pattern matching class before doing this.  Ha!

Now I cut the bodice before the skirt only to realise the fabric was insufficient.  Damn it!

Fortunately the cherries are fairly random, so I turned the skirt along the weft and then horror of horrors, had to put a seam in the front of my skirt to make it fit.

Now, here I put my foot down with myself and decided that pattern matching was a must on the now mandatory front seam.

Cue frantic searching for repeat patterns and finding the match on the other front skirt piece and a heck of a lot of glass head pins.

The pattern matched cherries are horizonately across the photo

Did I mention that I underlined the bodice and lined the skirt?   I allowed the skirt a couple of days  hanging time for the bias and wow, did that lining show under the skirt.  Put my horsehair braid to give me that swing, and wouldn't you know it, the lining is still showing under the skirt.  I mean really showing so wavy and uneven that looking at it could make you seasick.   Aaaahaahaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
If you've ever unpicked horsehair braid when you've stupidly sewn it on with your machine on 2 stitch length, you'll know it takes time.

Horsehair braid

The waist stay

Well now, out of the mouth of disaster comes a wearable garment.  I'm well peeved coz I was sewing in the horsehair braid back in on the day of the event and had to leave the dress, unfinished, and wear something else. Just another half hour would have done it!

Anyhow, my dress form is looking rather lovely in her new frock. I've still not worn it it.

My cherry print full skirted frock

I've been a good student of the sewing school of life- I won't be naughty and rush a frock again!!