Ta-da!

The photo, I’m afraid, doesn’t show you how great it is.  I think it’s pretty anti-fashion, but that doesn’t stop me from liking it a lot.  It’s floaty, loose, easy, breezy–covers everything, touches nothing.

Not only that, it has pockets!

This is a size 14, with no changes except for moving the waistline tie up 1/2 inch.  I had already sewn it in the spot indicated by the pattern, but it was clearly too low.  When I tied it, the bodice bloused over the waistband in a most unflattering manner.

No really surprises there.

The tie is only stitched down in front, so it wasn’t difficult to remove and attach a little higher up.   I’m past the age for bows, so I’m really glad the ties are short.  I’ve been simply tying a square knot in back.

I like it, but it did not garner any compliments at church. That’s a pretty good sign that it is either unflattering or boring–or perhaps I wasn’t in the presence of anyone who appreciates the unusual.

At any rate, there were no “Mama” comments, so I’m not throwing it out.

I may even make another.

The front of my new Simplicity 2615 dress wanted some lace applied, and it needed it. Since the view I chose pulls over the head without any slit, it’s far too plain with some decoration.  Not only that, but the eye needed a place to rest from all those small flowers.  The embellishment had to be wide and solid enough that the flowers didn’t show through much–otherwise it would just be one more element of confusion on the bodice of this dress.

I decided on some 1.5″ black lace and satin ribbon of varying widths.  I played around with the positioning for a little while and decided to place a row of lace 1″ from the center front seam, and another along the center front seam for opacity sake.  The ribbon would go on top of that, and should give the eye a definite resting place.

At first I thought I’d pin the layers in place and stitch them down.  Fortunately I considered the unlikelihood of my getting it all straight before I actually proceeded with that plan.  There was a package of Clover 5mm Fusible Web on the table that came to my rescue.  I’ve used a similar product in the past with good results, although this Clover stuff was more precisely cut and has yet to separate from the backing even in our Georgia humidity.

First I placed the two outer strips 1 inch from the center seam, then three more strips:  1 on the seam for the widest ribbon and 1 to each side for the edge of the inner lace strips.  I fused and stitched the outer lace strips, then the inner, and finally the ribbon.  The tape was nice because I could position everything, then remove the outer strips, fuse and stitch the lace, then remove the next ones.

After stitching the 1/4″ ribbon, I added a 1/8″ satin ribbon on each side of the wider piece, but there’s no photo for some reason.

I’ve already finished and worn the dress, and I like it a lot.  It has kind of an early 20th century feel with it’s dolman sleeves and loose fit.  Tomorrow I’ll try to have a photo to show you.