The enemy of good

I had forgotten how much I love wrap dresses.  I still own two RTW ones from my working lady days, tucked away as they are in the maybe-I'll-fit-into-it-again-someday box.  They never failed to make me feel stylish and put together when I wore them.  Wrap dresses don't fit into my daily wardrobe anymore, but that didn't stop me from sewing up another Appleton dress the day after I finished my first one.

In hindsight, I think the last one, in a straight size 14 E/F, really came out well.  But hypercritical me just could not leave it alone.  I found the bodice a little low-cut and there were some small wrinkles above my bust.  I also felt the sleeves were too tight and that the bodice was a bit tight across my upper back waist.

So up I went another a cup size, from 14 E/F to 14 G/H. I also added the teeniest sliver to the upper waist on the back pattern piece, and used the size 16 sleeves.  I am not sure which modification is the primary culprit, but I ended up with the same low cut, plus mo' wrinkles, mo' problems.

14 G/H in red, 14 E/F in blue.

Looking at these photos, I think it's got to be the sleeve that's the issue.  I didn't modify the size 14 armhole, but just stretched it to fit the 16 sleeve.  Maybe that's the problem?  I don't really know, so please comment if you have ideas!  The sleeve is also strangely twisty - when I put the dress on I have to shrug my shoulders with my arms straight out in front of me, and turn my wrists inward to get the sleeve to untwist.  I have no idea why.  I did not sew the sleeves on backwards (I checked and rechecked), and I'm at a loss.

On the plus side, my modification of cutting both front pieces the same width (instead of trimming the under layer), gave me more security in the skirt.  I also added 4.5" to the waist tie pattern piece on the fold, which gave me the longer sash that I prefer for bow-tying.  And my 1" lengthening of the skirt allowed me to sew a hem this time.  I didn't lengthen (or hem) the sleeves, though.

This dress does fit better (i.e. not as tightly) across the back.

The fabric is a lovely rayon/lycra jersey recently bought from Fabric Mart.  It was lovely to work with - very stable and substantial.  I think it actually might have some cotton in it too.

The dress is very comfortable to wear.  The neckline really does stay put (with aid of safety-pin to keep the front respectable), even though I don't quite have the bodice fitted properly.  My eyes do go right to the offending folds whenever I look in the mirror (or at one of these photos), but I try to remember that, before sewing, I wouldn't even have noticed the wrinkles when trying on dresses, and I certainly would have bought this one.

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