M7121 - Meh

before and after modifications,
with a hefty dose of why-I-am-putting-these-pictures-on-the-internet?

 Excuse the potato quality pictures.  I was pretty lazy about getting these.  

I'd been particularly excited about this pattern, as I thought the chevron would solve the fabric problem I was having.   My lovely stripy fabric (found on the bargain table) stretched ALONG the stripes, instead of perpendicularly to them.... (which is probably why it ended up on the bargain table.)  But with a bias cut, I could avoid horizontal stripes and still manage to get into it.

Silly me.

Straight out off the pattern (I know.. but I didn't bother to muslin this) it was a mess.  Despite being a knit and what looks to be a fairly close fit, it has an elasticized waist  -- but not enough material to make it bloused -- just enough to make it pull oddly.  Plus, the whole thing hangs rather low.

Anyhow, I have since taken out the elastic, taken it in the waist and pulled the shoulders up by about three inches.  It's helped, but I'm still not very happy with the fit.  (Greg's verdict: 'It's okay, but your other dresses are nicer')  

Whoever drafted this pattern really punted hard - rather than facings or binding or lining or anything, it just calls for folding over and sewing.  Not even with stabilization - no way the armholes won't grow like crazy.   So, someday, when I'm less disappointed by this dress, I'll probably do a binding of some kind.  However, for the moment.  meh.  Mostly just a bit annoyed over wasting fabric I really liked.

If you are thinking about using this pattern, make sure to plan some significant redrafting into your plans.