A Un-Done Dahlia

I don’t often post about unfinished garments but I don’t think this one will ever be finished. I ordered Colette Patterns new dress Dahlia during the prelaunch sale, because I loved the plaid version. But I wasn’t quite sure it would look that good on me.

dahlia-1

I normally do an FBA on everything, but looking at the sizing and the gathers in the bodice I decided to cut a straight size and see how it went. I had 3 yards of a poly suiting in my stash and I picked up the zipper and bias tape at Joann. I also got some piping because I thought it might look cool in the raglan seams.

My hope here was to make a wearable muslin that was more wearable than muslin. That’t didn’t happen, mainly because that fabric frays like crazy! In the end I didn’t feel it was worth redoing seams that will probably just unravel again. I do think the style actually looks pretty good so it wasn’t a wasted effort.

dahlia-3

Here’s what I learned for when I make a real version.

  • Shorten the waistband by 1/2
  • Hand stitch the waistband lining
  • Lengthen the skirt by about 2″
  • Convert back skirt gathers to darts
  •  Check the back bodice length. (It looks wonky in the photos but I may not have had the front pulled down enough)

dahlia-2

I don’t really love the piping in the raglan seams, but I did learn something from that too. Next time I’ll use wash away Wonder Tape. The first seam I pinned and it came out wonky and then I had the brilliant idea to use Wonder Tape! So the second (and third and fourth) piped seams came out great.

So now I am on the hunt to find a nice weight wool plaid. I think a red/black buffalo check would be perfect. If anyone spots that in Portland – let me know!

 

3 responses on “A Un-Done Dahlia

  1. Thimberlina

    Shame it unravelled so much, the colour suits you and I love the piping.
    I had a similar problem with mine and wondered if I should shorten the back, but a kind blogger suggested I wear a cardigan! I suppose it depends on your climate, it’s pretty cool here so I need one!
    Good luck with your fabric hunt.

  2. seerosiewrite

    I was going to leave a similar comment to Thumberlina–it’s a shame you aren’t finishing it, because I think it looks really great on you–the fit, colour, and especially the neckline are really flattering. I’m trying to figure out if this pattern would work in a knit fabric.