Friday, April 15, 2011

Another sheath dress

The Sewing Lawyer cannot have too many sheath dresses, since she has a pattern that fits.  For years, a simple dress with no waist seam that fit everywhere was an elusive goal, given a hip measurement that is about 2 sizes bigger than the waist or bust.  PatternMaster Boutique to the rescue.

PMB produces a pattern that is a decent but not excellent fit.  It needs tweaking in the pattern editor (CAD) component of the program.  My goal for the program is to produce basic blocks, like this dress and my princess seamed skirt, that I can make over and over as is, or adjust for different styles.

For this sheath, I started with a princess seamed dress.  This is a simple shape that as originally drafted, had both a shoulder princess seam and a second seam that corresponds to the second waist dart in front and back.

To the right are the finished pattern pieces.  One of the standard changes I make is to take a little wedge at the CB waist, since PMB drafts with a dead straight CB seam.  I'm not straight there, are you?  As you can see, I converted the second princess seam back to a fisheye dart in the front.  In the back, it's a long dart that ends in the armscye.  The hem is also slightly pegged so it looks less blocky.

So this is at least the third sheath dress I've made from the pattern.  You last saw it here.


Here are the pictures of my most recent iteration of this dress.  So comfortable!  It has about 2" or so of ease at the hip.  

I think it looks pretty good with my leather jacket.  

I wore this to the Haute Couture Club of Chicago luncheon and fashion show last Sunday.  But I had not correctly anticipated the weather.  It was 85 degrees F (29.5 C)!    

26 comments:

  1. How lovely! And how satisfying to have a perfectly fitting dress. I didn't persist with PMB long enough to achieve this.

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  2. Wow, that dress is gorgeous. You are so clever. I've been reading you blog for a few months now but this is my first time commenting, spurred on by Carolyn's post on blog etiquette. So hi from New Zealand and thanks for sharing.

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  3. This is fantastic on you! And I think that 80degree weather was unusual otherwise you would have been spot on!

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  4. You look marvelous! I think I need to play around PMB again, it has been awhile.

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  5. What a great silhouette! You look great.
    And the jacket is wonderful, too!

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  6. Very flattering dress, the fit is perfect, which of course I guess it would be after drafting the pattern and making it multiple times. But it is the amazing fit that makes this a stand out dress on you.

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  7. I too am a fan of the Sheath! I love it - I wear it with a matching jacket and voila! Or with sandals. I have yet to find the "perfect pattern." I love your result - perfect!

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  8. Great fitting sheath, I love them as well.

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  9. Your sheath dress looks perfect. I particularly admire how the back shoulder line covers the armscye. The fit is impeccable.

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  10. Perfect. Never can have too many of those in the wardrobe. Especially for work.

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  11. I'm one of the lucky ones to have seen the dress and the jacket up close and personal--perfect fit, elegant fabric. Kay, you looked fabulous!

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  12. Wonderful look on you! I love your sheath dress.

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  13. You look wonderful! Perfect fit.

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  14. Simple et chic comme je te le dis à l'occasion. Une très belle couleur également. Ça se porte bien avec du gris ce type de brun. À moins qu'il y aie beaucoup de beige dans le tissus, ce que je ne peut pas voir sur les photos. L'agencement avec la veste de cuir est génial. Très beau madame !

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  15. Love the dress. Beautiful cut and fit.

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  16. Lovely! I like the effect with the jacket and boots. You're right, you cannot have too many sheath dresses. They make up about half my wardrobe.

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  17. Your sheath looks terrific! Great fit!

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  18. It's a beautiful dress, and it looks wonderful on you. I hope you didn't suffer to much as we traveled to the Merchandise Mart.

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  19. I think you totally NAILED the sheath dress!

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  20. The Sewing Lawyer has perfected the fit of a sheath dress, and it is lovely on her!

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  21. Oh my! Fitted so beautifully! You look wonderful. Hopefully I can get here one day.

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  22. Gah. This is EXACTLY the kind of dress I have been pining after. Fitted, dark chocolate brown, no stupid waist seams to make a shorty look (or feel) even shorter. And not made of JERSEY or anything else absurd.

    I've known for a while I'd have to make it myself (gulp). And while I'm so pleased you have found dress perfection, I'm sort of bummed out you had to draft the pattern yourself.

    Well, I love that you did that. It is wonderful and correct. It just means my own level of sewing is going to have to get much more hardcore.

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