The dress was made from a cotton lace that ended up having a lot of stretch. I pre-washed and dried it in the dryer and it still came out soft and held its shape. I found the lace fabric at the 50% off table at Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz. (Score!) The lining is a very unusual bright pink cotton, and had a lovely weight to it (almost like a light linen), but it didn't stretch as much as the lace. This was going to be a potential fitting problem. I had never really worked with lace before or stitched a contrasting lining that would be a major part of the dress design.
Because this is a pullover dress, I needed to make sure that the lining was going to fit over my head and my chubby little body. A couple of ladies from my Google Plus community saved the day by suggesting that I cut the lining on the bias, and then make long slits on the side. I did exactly these two things, and the lining fit perfectly.
I used Burda Style Wedding Dress #104, and of course made quite a few changes. The dress had a lot more ease than expected. It ended up being a couple of sizes too big for me after cutting, and the finished product is still a little loose. The back is supposed to be two panels sewn up the center back, but I made it into a single panel because I thought it showed off the lace more and designed a key-hole cut out instead of the original seam opening at the neck. I think mine looks better. :-) I also made the sleeve shorter, and I did not put in the pockets because I was afraid the added weight would make the lace stretch. Happy Spring sewing!
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| Here's a close-up of the dress so you can see the contrasting pink lining better. |
