Leopard print Simplicity 1059 dress

I sewed a second Simplicity 1059 dress - a swishy, drapey, dramatic sleeve-y leopard print confection that is really, really hard to photograph.

I made my first dress from this pattern in June, and while I ended up with a wearable dress, I learned a few tips for my second version:

First of all, despite being a solid size 18 (40-31.5-41.5) in Simplicity patterns, I went down to a straight pattern size 14, which corresponds with my high bust. There's a good chunk of ease built into the pattern, and my previous size 16 was a little big. This worked well, no FBA required!

Secondly, the back zipper is entirely unnecessary. I omitted the zipper and cut the back pattern piece on the fold, removing the seam allowance. I did the same to my back facing piece. I can still slip the dress over my head. I think the back of the dress looks much nicer without the zipper, too.

As the sleeves on the Simplicity 1059 are very dramatic and billowy, I didn't need a full bicep adjustment either. They are finished with elastic, so they can be worn down at the wrist, or pulled up to a three-quarter length, which, in my opinion, is just the right amount of pirate-y.

As I did the first time, I sewed up the front V an extra inch or so, so that it would cover my bra band. This is an easy fix to do on the fly while sewing.  I also didn't hem the dress as instructed. The entire skirt is a-line, with a shaped hem, and the pattern calls for a 2" hem allowance. As a result, there's quite a lot of excess width to ease into that hem. Yuck. No thanks! Instead, I just turned up the hem 3/4" and then folded it into itself for a finished 3/8" hem. No easing required, and the length is just right for 5'8" me.

The fabric is a rayon challis from Fabric Mart. I really like the drapey challis for this pattern. It feels like a completely different dress than my first, which I made out of cotton poplin. The background of the fabric is a pale pink, though that doesn't really come across in these photos.

I squeaked all my pattern pieces out of 2.5 yards of fabric, with just shreds remaining. I had to cut the sleeves on the cross-grain, but I think they look fine in this busy print. Since I had a scrap the right length, I cut my sash all in one piece instead of cutting it in two pieces and seaming it. I made sash carriers out of thread and attached them to the sides of the dress. I didn't follow the pattern markings for the sash placement, but tried on the dress and adjusted the sash until I knew where I wanted it to sit.

I cut the pattern pieces one night, and sewed the entire dress the following day. I spent about 3.5 hours sewing. It comes together pretty quickly without the zipper. The sleeves are set-in, but I still found the sleeved version less fiddly to sew than the sleeveless versions with all the facings.

I'm pretty happy with the finished dress.  I'm planning to wear it out for our anniversary dinner later this month. I'd like to play with styling it with a chunky sweater and boots as well as the more demure for-work look I'm sporting here.

 As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!