I knew I wanted to make another Sew Over It 1940s tea dress. I really liked my first one and I wear it all the time, but the fit isn't quite right and I wanted to see if I could improve it.
When the time came to buy fabric for it, I for some reason gravitated to this extremely traditionally feminine floral, which isn't me at all. I think I liked the colour combination and convinced myself it would be fine.
Verdict? I'm not quite sure yet.
I took these photos last week. Look how sunny it was! That better not have been our allotted summer already.
I made this version a size smaller than last time, mostly. It's a UK 12 in the shoulders, 16 in the bodice cups, 14 in the midsection panels and skirt. I also added about an inch to the bottom of the bodice cup piece, because my first version doesn't sit under my bust the way it should. Having made these changes the fit is definitely a lot better, and I'm way more likely to make more now.
HOWEVER.
I tried the dress on before binding the neckline and hemming it (I hated the neck facing on my first dress and I've since taken it off and replaced it with binding), and I didn't like it. The neckline didn't look right on me at all - the opening was too small and narrow, made my shoulders look enormous and gave the whole thing a feeling of frump that I really didn't care for. However, I happened to glance in the mirror as I was undoing the zip, and when the zip was just above my bra strap the neckline opened a bit and I liked it SO much better. I knew I wouldn't get any wear out of the dress as it was, so the sensible thing to do would be to redo the back with a V neckline, right?
Yeah, I tried to do a bodge job on it, and I do not recommend that approach. It looked terrible, and I knew I wouldn't wear it. I sighed, and sat down with my unpicker.
This is how the back looks now. It's a bit gapey because I was making adjustments to a basically finished dress, and when I make another one of these I'll edit the back pattern piece first. Actually, looking at these photos now I'd be tempted to go down another size in the back. Changing the back was a fairly simple edit - I took the zip out, marked where I wanted the centre back to be and cut a V down the back panels. I'd already done a bias-bound hem and didn't have of the binding left over, so the back doesn't match the front. I'm pretending it's a design feature.
With the change in neckline I feel a lot better about this dress. It's not going to herald a turnaround in my style or be a gateway drug to a load of delicate pastelly florals, but I will definitely wear it. The fit is great, it's super comfortable and it's versatile enough for me to wear anywhere. Mind you, it's still a pretty far cry from my normal style and I will probably end up wearing it with massive silver jewellery and boots more than with pretty sandals.
Please come back, sunshine, we miss you.
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