Finished Project: Neon Dress

I whipped up this dress in two evenings, after decided on a whim to make it for an office party.
The party theme was neon. At first I didn't want to buy anything as neon isn't really something that I wear a lot of. So I tried borrowing from friends but didn't really find anything I flet comfortable wearing. So I started looking in stores afterall, but couldn't find anything that I thought I'd wear again. Finally, a co-worker and I were going to the fabric store to pick up neon fabric to make table clothes, so i though "heck, I'll just make a dress".

 

I found this awesome print in the polyesther section. I don't usually go for synthetics, but this one was just so perfect. At $26 a meter, it's also significantly more expensive than what I usually pay, but the polyesther is really good quality, super soft and buttery. It was a bit too light to be used just as is though, but instead of doing a lining, I thought I wouldn underline the main fabric with a black fabric of similar stretch and weight.
I found some super soft black lycra in the knit section and knew it was going to work. I also picked up a bright pink exposed zipper for the back closure.

Both fabrics were a dream to work with, easy to cut and with no fraying, and super forgiving. I'm pretty sure I could use the remnants to make a bathing suit (I think I just might).

Since I didn't have time to make a muslin, I thought I'd use a pattern I'd already made: I used Pattern 107 from Burda magasine March 2009 (previously seen here ).
It is a simple shift dress with raglan shoulders and princess seams, which makes it super easy to adjust the fit of, since I can just pinch the excess along the princess seams where needed.

Back when I made the first one, I had no concept of pattern adjustments, so when I put it on, I could see all the issues, but also how to fix them. Also by now, I've figured out most of the adjustments that I pretty much need to make right off the bat:
- lowered the waistline by 2 cm
- did a forward shoulder adjustment
- sway back adjustment: this one was interesting. The amount of fabric I was able to pinch on my original dress was crazy, so I ended up taking that extra fabric out in two places on the pattern (I read a tutorial suggesting to do that, but I can't seem to find it online). As a result, I added quite a bit of fabric in the CB to make the CB seam straight, which I ended up taking in anyways on the final dress. Not sure if that was the right process, but in the end it worked.
Additionnally, when putting the dress together I did the following:
-Took in about 1cm from princess seam at bust point, tapering to nothing at waist
-took in 1 cm from side seams at hips, tapering to nothing at bottom hem
- shortenned the dress by about 2 1/2 inches.

 

also love my bright lipstick: MAC Impassionned

I finished heming the dress on the morning of the event, and didn't even bother finishing any of the seams at first, for lack of time - i went back later to trim allowances etc, but the insides were a pretty big mess when I first wore it)

I'm super happy with how the dress turned out. Thanks to the stretch and the weight of both fabrics combined, the fit is pretty much perfect, and the dress is actually incredibly comfortable to wear. I also can't get enough of this print. That green is so bright, it looks like it might glow in the dark (it doesn't). I'll definitely wear it again to go out!