Anne Adams 4753, take two (this time it's all my fault)

I tackled Anne Adams 4753 (of abundant bodice space fame) again over the Thanksgiving holidays.  The second attempt is better, though still not perfect.  This version is made from rayon challis, and the olive contrast material is some mystery blend of (I think) polyester and rayon.

I took a good bit out of the bodice area, which helped the fit, but I think I could have done even more.  Unfortunately, the way I did the modification enlarged the armhole a bit, which was not a particularly good thing.  I have no immediate plans to make this a third time, but if ever do, I'll try to redraft to fix those issues.  The neckline's also a bit wide:  the first time I sewed a narrower seam to give a little bit more coverage, but I forgot to do it this time.

It's also a little baggy in the back -- not sure how that happened, as I didn't change the back piece.  I think it's the result of using a more drape-y fabric (that also may have grown a bit while I sewed).

The round tab part could be a little better, but I don't think its flaws would be too noticeable to the non-sewer.  And I really like the buttons I found: they were on clearance at High Fashion Fabric, and remind me of contour maps.

I hung the dress for days before hemming, but still managed to achieve the most crooked-ass hem I have ever sewn.  Also, I noticed as I was finishing that there's a visible irregularity in the print that shows up in the skirt pieces.  It disappears when you're up close to the fabric.  I self-lined the bodice, but used cotton/poly lawn for the skirt.  Next time I'll line the whole thing in lawn for added stability.   I only interfaced the lining of the contrast fabric: next time I'll interface both sides.  That would fix the pucker you see in the photo above.   Nit-picks aside, the dress isn't so bad.  I like that it screams "Autumn!" ... it's the perfect Thanksgiving dress.  Too bad we're well past that and hurtling toward Christmas.

It has been two weeks since I did any sewing!    I have another vintage pattern and not-so-vintage fabric waiting for me on my sewing table -- hopefully I can spend some quality time with them today.