Something else I've wanted to sew for a LONG time is a wrap dress. I have had two patterns in my stash for probably a decade. I got the Style Arc Kate dress pattern first. I made a couple other dresses from a Style Arc pattern (here and, just so hideous: here) and decided the company's pattern model was very different from my body--theirs is long and lean and I'm curvy and short-waisted. Still, I have taken this pattern out a couple times over the years to reflect and consider making it. The last time I looked at it I had to laugh. I bought a size 8--and with Style Arc they only give you one size--and really doubted I could have fit into that. Somewhere along the line I bought the Vogue pattern. The envelope drawings didn't fill me with confidence that Vogue's pattern model would be any closer to me but I guess I figured the pattern came with lots of sizes and that might help. Having had so many fitting issues, I never got time or nerve to cut these out. Plus, that cleavage on the Vogue pattern drawing scared me. I don't like a neckline that's too low and that seems one of the big pitfalls with the wrap design.

Then came Cashmerette. I trusted that the company could draft for curves and their patterns always come with different cup sizes. But at the time, they didn't carry my size. I still ordered a print pattern when I got some fitting advice from a representative at the company. She told me to do an SBA, which is so funny since almost every top I make needs an FBA. 

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.

I never got the time to sew the Appleton print pattern up before the company came out with 0-12 sizing. Also, they have a great sizing tool on their site where you can enter your measurements and it tells you what size to cut and sew. I got the PDF which was nice in that I could display and print only the sizes/lines I needed, and it smoothed between the sizes (in effect) so I didn't need to draw in the grading.

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.

Next, I will try to make another velvet Christmas dress. This time, I will use green stretch velvet (already ordered, from Cali Fabrics), and this pattern. I got the idea to sew a velvet Appleton when I saw the one Sew Sarah Smith did (and in fact, that was what motivated me in the end to purchase the first, print, Appleton pattern I bought.). Subsequently I have come across others: Sew Fearless and Bimble and Pimble.

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.

I've been wanting to make this raglan pullover for a long time. I have a light sweatshirt I love to wear because it's comfortable and I like the styling, but the color is a pale brown so it's not great on me. I bought some "Nike fabric" a while back--a lightweight, breathable, poly jersey--and I decided to use it with this pattern. It could be a spring or fall coverup when it's not that cold but I still need something. The fabric is soft and was nice to work with. I liked how it turned out. It fits well. I didn't like the neckline as drafted, however. It fit like a choke hold. So I cut off the first neckband, traced the neckline of the sweatshirt I was trying to duplicate, used the tracing to cut a new neckline, and then sewed a new neckband. I really like the result.