At some point, I came across another wrap pattern -- the Ellie Mac tres belle wrap -- and even considered getting it. There are plenty of other wrap patterns out there. But I thought, no, sew up one of the three you already own.
Sizing notes. When I first used the sizing tool, I don't know what I weighed but I was told to use a G/H cup and a size 4 grading to an 8 (I think). When I used the tool just now, I was told to use an E/F cup and grade from a 4 to an 8 using my current measurements [b 36, w 29, h 40.5, cup D]. I plugged in my measurements at my ideal weight [b 34, w 27, h 39, cup D; my high bust is always 32] and was instructed to use a C/D cup and grade from a 2 at the bust to a 4 at the waist to an 8 at the hips. (Size 2? Not a chance. The 4 fits well, but the sleeves are right on the verge of being too small). I don't get where the G/H cup size came in. Was I even fatter? Who knows. Memo to self: take better notes in real time. (The fitting advice I got for the larger-sizing pattern said the E/F cup was right. Maybe I should do that next time...but it will be the real fabric...and what if it's too small? Always tricky.)
Now that I am retired I have some time. So I decided to sew a mockup using some silk jersey I have had in my stash. I know. Silk jersey for a mockup. Sinfully wasteful. But the pattern on the fabric is weird. And frankly, silk jersey has not been my friend. It is absolutely lovely to sew with, and it feels like a cloud when it's on, but I don't like how it hugs and accentuates all my cellulitic bumps. Perhaps twiggy or buff bodies look great in silk jersey, but not me. So I made it and it fits me pretty well. The band was too long as drafted--it basically was the same length as the dress edge it was being sewed to, which would have let the neckline droop. So I sliced off two inches before sewing it on permanently. I think it could have been an additional 2 inches shorter to tighten up the opening.
So as I was cutting out the fabric, my husband said he thought it was beautiful. So in case it might turn out to be wearable, I lined the front and back pieces with some swimsuit lining I had in my stash. I liked it better for this silk jersey than the knit lining I used on my purple holy grail dress. It matched the weave of the silk a little better. I like how that decision turned out. It came together well and the drape looks good on the final dress. It did give me a little protection from the cellulite-broadcasting power of the silk jersey, as intended.
The sleeves were too short for me. I'm sure the dress would look a little better overall with the true cap, but I just need more coverage. So I put a 2"-inch band on.
I probably hemmed it too short. It seems too short for this dress pattern; the proportions might look better if the bit below the waist were longer, as in the picture of the model at the top of this post. Maybe it's hard to tell with these pictures but you can see how the bottom half is shorter than in the Cashmerette model.
I'm still a little timid about wearing it into public for fear it's a ghastly pattern. You can't always trust the husband in these cases. I'll run it past my sisters.
UPDATE: I ran it past my daughter and she said no. Well, she commented on the cling power of the fabric, very diplomatically, as is her way. I am done with silk jersey, people. I hope some lucky person at Goodwill takes a shine to it because that's where it went.
I ordered this on my phone. It's "hunter green." God, I hope it's not hideous. Maybe I should have tried red again.
Update: Cali did not have the green, so I said okay send me the red. It's still folded in my stash.