There is that one dress that I would wear for any event, and maybe just to feel good. I have now moved it to the front of my wardrobe. I wore it for my 50th birthday party, a masquerade bash my daughter and sister master-minded while I was out of town on a Palmer-Pletsch Training in Portland, Oregon (more on that in another post).
The description says: Loose-Fitting, partially interfaced, lined, pullover dress (fitted through bust) has collar, collar band, side front, side back seams, front hemline slit, flared, pleated lower back, invisible side zipper and cap sleeves with bias armhole binding. “Whew!!!” That’s a lot of details!!!!
Let me just go over some of these beautiful details the pattern has to offer, and offered up exquisitely, might I add. All the details made for a lovely dress indeed!!
Loose-Fitting- I would say so for the bottom half of the dress. It offered up just enough room to dance, and move, yet still gave that beautiful sheath look from the front, and just skimmed over the waistline to look fitted, yet room enough to breath.
Partially interfaced- The entire front is interfaced with fusible. I used the Palmer-Pletsch brand “PerfectFuse Light” which is for underlining fabric or fusing to textured fabrics. It worked like a dream. It comes in 3 yard packs for right at $7.50 per yard of 60” width. (It is on sale right now for $19.00)
Fabric and lining- The fabric is the nicest linen, cotton, rayon. It has raised dots with a fine thread of gold going through it. I wouldn't call it a pique because of the underside being flat. For the lining, I used a luxurious 100% Bemberg rayon lining from Fabric Depot in Portland, as part of their "ambiance collection". Feels so beautiful on the skin. Becky of Beccabeck Stuff, recommended it highly. So, when I got to Portland, that was the first thing I looked for.
Pullover fitted through bust- Yes, Yes and Yessss!!! The fit through the bust is awesome. I was worried about the neckline, so I sewed it up two inches for modesty. I don’t know your definition of modesty, but mine was tested to its limit in this dress. However, when I got to moving around during the night, I never dealt with any wardrobe malfunctions or peek-a-boo bust.
Alterations I made: For this size 14: I did a 1 3/4” full bust adjustment, 1/2” broad back, cut off 2 inches from the hem, gave myself 1/2” on the sleeve width (should have done 1.5”). Did a 3/8” sway back adjustment, and made the center back seam curve in to my back by 1” at the waist.Collar, collar band- are wonderful details. The collar stand is actually a wedge shape that causes the collar to lift at the back, giving it that 1980s stand-up feel. I love how it doesn’t just lie flat at the back.
Side front, side back seams and “FRENCH Dart”- Love, Love, love and love this feature. Because of the drastic transition to from my waist to bust, these details made for easy fitting. I curved the dart at the bust as suggested by Marta Alto, with Palmer-Pletsch. It is recommended for full bust to curve the dart “around” just a tad when approaching the prominent part of the bust. I curved mine slightly further for visual affect. It turned out great.
Flared, pleated lower back- Can I just say, this is the best feature of all. I felt like a princess with my almost double full circle inset hanging of the back. It didn't weigh the dress down or cause it to drag. The length is longer than the front just enough to make it almost feel like I have a tea-length dress on, yet the front feels like I have a sheath dress. The flounce has 4 very large double pleats to give it the volume it needs yet still fit into the back curved seam right under the buttocks.
This dress would be great in anyone's wardrobe arsenal. One thing that would make it right for absolutely any occasion, is to just redo the roll line on the collar so that it will close higher in the front. Other than that, this is an absolute terrific dress.
And I would be remiss not to share this parting shot.
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Until next time. Enjoy.