Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Skeleton dress: progress!

     I've finally got the pattern in my possession and taken the first steps toward making progress on the skeleton dress (first mentioned here). I ended up going with a different pattern than the one I had picked out initially. The pattern I'm using now is New Look pattern number 6143, which looks like this:

How cute is the polka dot dress, too? I'll probably be making that at some point.
     I'll be making view B, the one the model is wearing, only hopefully less dreadful and bleakly 90's-looking than hers and with a few tweaks that I'll tell you about in a minute. First let me tell you why I switched to this pattern.

    Reason #1: I really prefer to stick with Simplicity patterns whenever I can because I find that they are, generally speaking, easier to follow (New Look is a part of Simplicity, in case you're not following the twisted path of devastation left by my derailed train of thought). In my experience, they make less assumptions than some other pattern brands about your level of experience, and are marginally less likely to include any instructions that are clearly just there to screw with you and make you pull your hair out as you scream "But why? Why would I do that? IT MAKES A-NO SENSE."

     Reason #2: The new pattern is actually closer to what I wanted. The only adjustments I'll have to make (see, I told you I'd tell you about the tweaks) are moving the waistline up a bit, maybe shortening the skirt (the pattern has the length slated to be far more modest than I've ever pretended to be, but we'll see how long it is after I move the waist and go from there) and making the sleeves full-length instead of three quarters length. I may end up making the sleeves 3/4 length at the end anyway, but I haven't decided yet. So for now, I plan to make them long. Easier to shorten them later than lengthen them, ya know.

Like it told me to, just longer.
     Reason #3: Simplicity patterns are cheaper, especially if you catch them on sale. The original McCall's pattern I had picked out was twenty bucks. TWENTY.  FOR AN ENVELOPE FULL OF MARKED UP TISSUE PAPER. It's a pattern, not the Shroud of Turin. And McCall's patterns apparently NEVER go on sale, because I've been sale-stalking them at every craft store for almost month with no luck. I can't, I just can't with that noise.

     So! Now I have all the pieces cut out and ready to put together! And since my mum has sweetly offered to do the pleats for me because she knows how I hate them and usually end up screwing them up in some so-stupid-it-would-be-funny-if-it-didn't-mean-I-have-to-redo-it way (ever sew your pleats wrong-side out? I HAVE) and then quitting out of frustration for a period of weeks, it should move along pretty swimmingly from here. I'll keep you posted! (Ahaha see, it's a pun because I'm literally posting about it eeheehee. I'm so sorry, I'll iron my fingers like a bad house elf tomorrow for making such a bad pun.)

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