A wrap dress for me

This week at school/work, I have two papers due and one test and frankly, I was tired of studying. I am really missing my family living across the continent and the paper writing was starting to annoy me. So how did I cope? I put my computer aside and sewed a dress I had been thinking about for a while. What? is that not how you cope with negative emotions?

Back in January, Justine from Sew Country Chic wrote a post about the timeless style of Diane Von Furstenberg's wrap dress. You can see Justine's finished version HERE. Like Justine, I have always loved that dress and her post reminded me that I have a wrap dress pattern from Burdastyle that I have been meaning to sew for the last two years.

Then, I discovered that Project Sewn's theme this week is the Fashion Icon Challenge. Well, how many excuses did I need to get working on that wrap dress that had been waiting for me???

The burdastyle pattern I have is called the 70s Wrap Dress 10/2011 #122. The model is wearing a version made of organza. But, there is also a very similar version called the Long Metallic Wrap Dress 10/2011 #123B that appears virtually identical except the length and the sleeve style. The sleeves in #123B are fitted and have zippers at the wrist. My #122 comes with two sleeve options: one that is full and one with a dart and zipper at the wrist. I can only assume that the zipper sleeves are the ones that go with #123B.

For my fabric, I chose a cotton sateen with a slight stretch so I thought the fitted sleeve would be a much better option. But the instructions for #123B did not include the zipper sleeve so I had to wing it. I am satisfied with the way they turned out, but I am not sure if I did it correct. I first inserted the invisible zipper, and then sewed up the dart. Do any of you know which was supposed to be sewn first?

The dress is a true wrap dress, so it has ties on each side and a slit under my right arm. You simply need to insert a tie into that slit and wrap the ties around into a belt. I believe it is designed for the left side to be inserted into the right slit and then the right tie wrapped around your back. However, I did not notice a flaw in the fabric until it was too late; so I have to have my left side on top.

Strangely enough there was another flaw in this fabric too that I managed to keep to the facing. It was missing some dots!

The main body of the dress is also lined with a self-fabric facing. You simply base the facing to the lining and then insert them together. The last step I did to finish the dress was to hand sew the lining over the arm hole seam allowance.

The pattern was relatively straight forward to sew and given that it is such a classic dress, I am sure I can find many different fabrics to use for a variety of looks. This may become my go-to dress pattern. I simply love the fit and I had to do very little to modify it to my shape.

In addition to the sleeve variation, the pattern comes with various flounce pieces that you could add to make the dress fancier. I may try the neckline flounce for a version done in silk organza.

And guess what? If you are reading this on February 7th, 8th, or 9th and you love my dress as much as I do, you can vote for it during the Project Sewn sew-along challenge.