Supplement #322 - Model #141 - Autumn 2021
Knit Dress w/ Gathered Skirt
Hello fellow Lutterloh enthusiasts. It almost looks like Spring here in California. I wanted to get one more project in before I need to turn my attention to preparing for fire season. 😓 This dress should work great for those last few cold days before the warm up. The model for this dress has bare legs but a pair of sweater tights for me turns this dress into a transition piece.
Pattern Hints:
This pattern enlarges easily enough with just a front and back bodice and a sleeve to draw out. The skirt and the lower sleeve and cuff are just rectangles where the size has been suggested. Make sure to paper fit your pattern because I found the neckline to be much higher than the fashion drawing indicates. I also thought that this pattern came out much roomier than the drawing suggests. I will detail my alterations below.
Design Changes:
As I mentioned, the neckline for this dress drew out deceivingly high. When I went to paper fit the bodice the neckline looked much more like a crew neck than a scoop to me. The photo below shows, in red, where I drew my actual neckline.
You can see that I also drew my neckline in a little closer to my neck because I was afraid my bra strap might show at the original width. Of course I also had to adjust my back bodice neckline to this width. Instead of facings the neckline is finished with my favorite satin edge elastic.
After adding my usual one inch of length to the bodice I paper fit again and noticed that even with wider darts this bodice would not fit closely like the fashion drawing looks. I needed to take half an inch off each side seam to get it to fit more like the drawing. That's a full two inches that needed to be taken in. I still ended up using generous seam allowances when sewing in the side zipper and seams but it does look closer to the fashion image now.
Because I was a little short on fabric the skirt of this dress is a few inches shorter than the pattern. I won't likely wear this dress without tights or leggings under it so I don't mind the shorter length. Oh yeah, I added pockets too! The model appears to have her hand in a pocket to me but there is no pattern piece for it. I snagged a pattern off the internet and put them in easy, peasy on the straight side seams of the skirt. Right where the zipper ended was just the right level for me.
Fabric Used/Suggested:
This pattern suggests you use a knit or stretch fabric. The bodice of my dress is indeed a cotton blend with spandex but my skirt and puffy sleeves are in a solid rayon challis. The stretch of the bodice and sleeves along with the side zipper really do allow for lots more choices for the skirt fabric. I found the skirt piece to be about double the volume of the bodice width so keep in mind your skirt fabric should look good gathered.
Closing Hints:
You can see from all the changes detailed above that this pattern was a little fiddly for me. Now that I have it all altered I'll probably keep it. I just don't know if I would recommend this one at least not to those in the busty crowd. I suspect that's why I ended up with so much ease in the lower bodice. Nothing that can't be easily fixed but there are just so many more patterns to try out there.
Onward then to the next project. Supplement #324 should be arriving soon and I do always prefer the Spring and Summer editions. That seems to be the only seasons we get in California anymore.
Happy sewing for now,
Ann in. Calif.
