Thursday 19 August 2010

Simplicity 'Amazing Fit' dress - finished!

Fortunately I recovered from my mishap with this dress (confessed to in my last post) pretty quickly and now, of course, I’m telling myself that I really do love the tab and buttons. Isn’t it funny how we Sewists can so quickly adapt and think positively? A ‘foolish mistake’ can become a ‘design decision’ and so we find ourselves with a dress we love.

Anyway, put some sunglasses on, because here it is


That orange is pretty dazzling isn’t it? In the summertime I’m a sucker for bright colours – orange, yellow, throw in a bit of hot pink and I’m happy!

The fabric is a cotton pique that I purchased from Elliott Berman in New York and I think it’s just right for this style – it’s soft but not too thin, it has some body but isn’t too stiff. Normally I’m a bit of a lining fiend but, as the pattern didn’t call for a lining, and I felt this fabric would be good on its own, I have made it unlined.

The pattern is Simplicity 2648 and the instructions are interesting – I think they’re either genius or annoying, depending on what you want. It’s an ‘Amazing Fit’ pattern so they give you loads of helpful instructions on how to get the fit just right but in order to do this they ask you to baste the whole dress together, make your adjustments, then TAKE IT APART and sew it together again DIFFERENTLY. What I mean by this is that you baste the front bodice and front skirt together then you baste the back bodice and back skirt together and then baste front to back (so it’s easy to fit down the sides). Then you take it apart and sew it together the more usual way – i.e. sew the bodice, then sew the skirt, then join the two together. It’s great if you need to be guided through the fitting process.

Personally, I didn’t do it that way. I bought the pattern because it has separate pattern pieces for A, B, C or D, cups (always a big selling point for me!) and, of course I really liked the style. I like the close-fitting princess seam bodice and I like that the skirt front has two vertical seams with no darts. I did the fitting by making a muslin. I am such a weird shape that I usually have to make all sorts of adjustments that wouldn’t be so easy to make later, once the nice fabric was cut. However, as long as you are prepared to sort out which part of the instructions you want to follow and which you want to ignore, then I really recommend this pattern.

Before I go, here is a close-up of that button tab that I’ve grown to love so much

But next time I make this pattern I’m going for the version with the belt because I think I’m going to love that too. Hey, I’m easy to please!

64 comments:

  1. Great color, looks fantastic. I am liking these Amazing fit patterns, I made a muslin of Simplicity 2404, sleeveless version and it also came out well. as for the instructions - what are they thinking? I agree with you, construct as you like.
    I think I need to get to NY for some fabric shopping! you have some great stuff.

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  2. Ooh, SO cute!!! I love bright colors as well, especially that orange. Such a happy shade. Anyway, great job as usual. I'm glad your "mistake" didn't turn you off finishing the dress, because it really is darling.

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  3. It's just like they say: if one door closes, another one opens... This button tab may have been second choice but it's definitely a winner. It's a lovely dress!
    I'm always amazed at how good the things you make look on you. Like you know exactly what works for you.

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  4. Lovely color/fabric and the dress turned out great with the tab!

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  5. What a lovely style dress on you, the color is just gorgeous . I also love bright colours !

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  6. Great looking dress on you in a wonderful colour! I also love patterns with the separate bust sizing.

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  7. I read in Vogue that orange is a big color for fall so you are SO on trend. I am sure you intended that! ;)

    Did you use the "curvy" skirt shape or "normal"? I have hips, but I believe I read on Pattern Review that the "curvy" skirt shape is a *really* curvy. I like your dress's straight skirt. BTW, it makes you look really thin and willowy! This shape skirt is incredibly flattering on you.

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  8. Gorgeous dress, it suits you so well and the colour is stunning.

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  9. Gosh, this dress is gorgeous! So perfect for summer. I'm so glad you ended up liking the button tab. That detail matches so well with the dress. Very, very, nice!

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  10. Way cute and I love the fabric!! The tab is really great.

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  11. Your dress looks great and the tab buttons are cute! Orange is one of my favourite colours. I have this pattern but have never got around to giving it a go.

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  12. Very dazzling indeed.

    Trudy
    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  13. This is beautiful and I love the color you chose!

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  14. Very nice! And I think that colour on you is stunning!

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  15. Love the dress--it looks phenomenal! I'm dying to try an amazing fit pattern, but I'm pregnant right now so the fit wouldn't be so amazing. :) That's going to be one of my first projects after baby comes!

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  16. What a beautiful dress!! I also agree that the color looks stunning on you. Good job!

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  17. Such a fresh, summery dress. You look wonderful in this style, so I do hope you make it again!

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  18. cute, cute, cute! and I really like orange...one of my favorites :-)

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  19. Such a pretty dress Eugenia!

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  20. Pretty dress, that tab is a cute detail.

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  21. So cute! and the fabric is perfect!

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  22. Eugenia this is so very stunning...it really is!!! That shade of orange is definitely your color!!! The design is great on you and I can't wait to see another version (wink)!

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  23. You are wrecking my sewing plans. I have to rearranging my queue because your stuff makes me rethink my plans. Love the style, the fabric, the fit...everything.

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  24. Love the brightness of this dress.

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  25. Gotta love those bright colors - love that orange. The dress looks great on you!

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  26. I like this dress! I have noticed the pattern but keep passing it up. Like you I like having cup size variations but did not realize that this dress had it! Love your fabric and orange is one of my fabric colors.

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  27. That is wonderful on you. You are such a sheath girl.

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  28. The orange is great! The fit and style of this dress are spot-on, too. Nice job!

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  29. It's so cute... great job! You look fantastic in that dress!

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  30. I love this colour! It's so positive and love your construction of the dress too... very neat!

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  31. You look fabulous in this dress! I love the fabric. Your "mistake" turned out to be a design plus. At the same time, I'd like to see you in the version with the buckle. Keep sewing :)

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  32. Wonderful. You look great in this dress. A beautiful color. Fun. Congrats.

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  33. Super adorable!!! I just love the orange.

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  34. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!
    Hi to A Sewn Wardrobe - to answer your question - I forget to mention that I used the Average Fit for the skirt (all my fitting problems tend to be above the waist!). The pattern tissue says that the finished hip measurement for the Curvy fit is half an inch bigger than the Average fit and the Slim fit is half an inch less than the Average Fit.

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  35. I agree with everyone else ... the color is great for you. The fit is on target. You look lovely!

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  36. That button tab is sooo cute, and I love that orange pique.

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  37. Very nice! I have that pattern in my collection, but your version makes me actually want to *sew* it.

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  38. What a yummy looking dress! I hope it's still nice and warm so you can wear it for a while yet.

    Please make one with the belt, I'd like to see another version!

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  39. Beautiful -- love that color on you!

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  40. Very pretty dress. I love orange. It makes a statement.

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  41. Thank you so much for your nice comment on my blog.

    Trudy
    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  42. Lovely orange and aren't you glad you recovered from the ooops and completed this. Fits perfectly.

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  43. What a beautiful summer dress! That is a stunner of a color on you and I can see why you gravitate towards it. While I've been loving orange recently, I have to use it sparingly as it really doesn't suit me all that well. Instead, I'll admire this lovely dress on you and be happy that someone is able to wear orange in such a bright and bold way. :)

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  44. I have been looking at this pattern. You sold me on it! So pretty and love the orange.

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  45. Beautiful dress. I was wondering now that you've probably worn this dress a couple of times, how the pique wore. Did it bag out at the butt? IF not, how did you prevent that from happening?

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  46. Hi Elizabeth - sewabeginner. Thanks for the compliment :) Actually I have only worn it once so far - I made it a little late in the season to get a lot of wear out of it in the British weather. It hasn't bagged out yet but, as I did absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening, it possibly will when I get to wear it more! I will report back if it does ....

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  47. I love this dress and am thinking of making up this pattern myself. I know you haven't put sleeves in yours but do you think it would be straightforward to increase the sleeve length to three quarters? I am after a Mad Men look! Thank you

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  48. Hi Kate. I'm sure that making the sleeves three quarter length would be straight forward. You could use the pleated sleeve pattern piece and just extend the piece to the length that you want. Alternatively, you could use a pattern piece from another patttern that has a sleeve that you like and 'morph' it on to this one by redrawing the armhole to match.

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  49. Thanks Eugenia. I think I will certainly make up the dress without sleeves first and then attempt some sleeve modification. The button tab convinced me!

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  50. Stunning dress and fabric choice. xx

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  51. I found this review via Google, and I'm so glad you published both this dress and the black one. It's hard to know if the patterns "fit" well, and this one seemed like it was too good to be true! Thanks for the review and your sewing skills are amazing!

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  52. I love that you did the little placket bit! I made this dress but I omitted it. I'm still pleased with the result: http://www.eatsleepknit.co.uk/simplicity-2648-amazing-fit-dress-pattern-review/

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