Creative Sewing: Butterlex

See, I told you I was building up to something.

This is the bodice of the By Hand London Elisalex dress combined with the skirt from Butterick 4443 (remember that? When I used to make that dress all the time?) and also pockets from the Sew Over It tulip skirt.

I think I had it in my head that because I'd done a full bust adjustment, the Elisalex bodice would just fit me now, and that was not the case. I had to take in all the princess seams - at the waist on the front and all the way down on the back - and put darts in the back neckline, which was gaping enormously. Before my next use of this bodice I'm going to make a couple of adjustments to my flat pattern pieces. I originally used the Elisalex short sleeves, but they're not actually that short, and I decided that not-quite-elbow-length sleeves looked a bit weird on this dress, so I shortened them to be actually short.

(Also apparently I didn't quite zip it shut all the way, but I'm not going to redo a photoshoot for that)

I think the lining is meant to be machine stitched at the neckline and hand-stitched everywhere else, but I (as usual) used the machine wherever I could. The Gnome attached the lining to the main fabric behind the zip tape and to just inside the seam allowances around the armholes, so all I had to do by hand was sew the lining at the waist seam.

Blue pockets! (See me recreating my Cordova colour combination. One day I will find the very best use for this, and that will be a happy day.)

This has been an odd one, because when I first tried it on after putting the zip in I decided this hadn't been a great experiment and I didn't like the dress very much. My opinion then shifted so gradually as I took in the seams and put in the neckline darts and hacked several inches off the sleeves and hemmed it to a slightly more flattering length that when I put the dress on at the end, I was genuinely surprised that I rather liked it. This is a totally cute work/being presentable dress. Go me!

I don't know if I'll make this particular combination again, but this was an excellent introduction to the world of Frankenstein patterns. I had a lot of fitting issues with this one, but the actual Frankensteining was really easy. Stupidly easy, in fact. I haven't decided what my next mash-up will be, but it will be happening soon. Why settle for what's in the packet, right?

And finally, me running out of ideas: