Wearable Muslin #1: stripe cotton knit (pretty thin)
Wearable Muslin #2: deep carnation pink slinky knit:
The Details:
1. Lodo Dress pattern from True Bias.
2. Fabric from the depths of my stash:
Stripe cotton knit--pretty thin--from Mood Fabrics
Deep Carnation Pink slinky from who-knows-where
3. Cut a straight Size 8 throughout.
Things I Did Differently:
1. Reinforced the shoulder seams with clear elastic
2. Reinforced the neckline seam with bias fusible stay tape
3. Eliminated the back seam. Not necessary for the shorter version
4. Added back darts
5. Serged the facing edges (to eliminate bulk) instead of turning them under. This was important for the striped cotton knit because it was so thin and for the slinky knit because it would show every edge and seam allowance. For that reason, I never touched the iron to the slinky but only hovered it above and heavily steamed every seam and edge so as not to create an impression from the underlying edges and seams.
6. Sewed all seams with a walking foot before 4-thread serging them. This was especially necessary for matching the stripe at the side seams.
Things I Learned:
1. For my taste, and especially for the fashion fabric I have in mind, this pattern is a bit too plain even for a plain palette dress, if that is possible. The silhouette is rectangular. I think I want something with more of a curvy silhouette to it (but not body con), especially for the other "interesting print" fabric that I want to showcase with a simple design.
2. It's perfectly serviceable and even quite nice for a loose, cool summer dress, but the fabric choice makes all the difference. You can see in the striped dress long drag lines under the bust toward the side seams. No amount of fiddling would make them go away without inserting french darts, which I didn't want to do, especially in a horizontal stripe.
When I looked at the Lodo Dress made up on the website gallery, various 'blogs, and on patternreview.com, several of the finished Lodos had the selfsame drag lines.
For that reason, I almost chucked the project, stopping with the stripe. For sure I wasn't going to make it in my "interesting print" fabric.
Instead, I chose a solid slinky fabric from my stash to see what it would look like in a beefier knit. Well, with a beefier, more drapey knit, the drag lines disappeared. (See pink dress photos above).
So what was intended as wearable muslin #2 actually became a dress that I wouldn't mind wearing out in public. The stripe knit will be an around-the-house dress.
3. I have never used woven fabric facings for a knit dress, AND I have never topstitched from the wrong side of the fabric. Both of those recomendations are in the instructions for the Lodo Dress.
I was highly skeptical but you know what? It worked! No ripples in the wide topstitched neckline and armholes. And it worked great both for the thin cotton knit and the thicker slinky knit. Who knew?
Topstitching closeup:
Woven fabric facings:
Two more dresses are now in my closet, ready for summertime wear. They're very comfortable and flattering for easy wear. I recommend this pattern, but not for the "interesting" fashion fabric that I have in mind for a plain palette design. If I make it again, I may go down a size or two.
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