I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve started a sewing project with great hopes, which were ultimately dashed by stupid mistakes and questionable decisions. It’s rare to have something turn out better than I hoped, despite stupid mistakes and questionable decisions, but that’s what happened with my little black dress.
I love, love, love how it turned out! Look:
It’s the first dress I’ve made in ages that I’m excited to wear. A lot of today’s styles just don’t look right on me. They emphasize all the wrong things, i.e. my short upper torso, narrow sloping shoulders and wide hips. This dress shifts attention away from those features and highlights my better ones.
I especially like the double cap sleeves. They might look odd on someone with broad shoulders, but they help balance out my figure.
The wide neckline is flattering too, but is a tad wider than optimal, since my bra straps end up on display. I’m wearing a strapless bra here.
Instead of the fabric band called for by the instructions, I bound the center of the empire belt with a piece of sequined trim. It looks classy in person–I just can’t get a good photo of it.
I suspect one panel was cut off grain, since there’s a bit of rippling in it, but it’s not a significant enough problem to trouble me.
The instructions didn’t call for it, but I created a slit in the back seam to allow me to maintain my usual long stride when walking. No mincing steps required!
It was pretty easy to do. I sewed the back seam of both the shell and lining to the point where I wanted the slit to start–about eight inches from the unhemmed bottom of the skirt. I then hemmed the skirt and the lining. The lining ended up about 3/4″ shorter than the outer skirt. With right sides together, I sewed the lining to the outer skirt at the slit opening. A little understitching keeps the lining in place on the inside of the slit.
Speaking of stupid mistakes, remember how upset I was over the hole I snipped into the lining?
Many of you suggested I fix it with a fusible patch. That sounds like a great way to handle that. Thank you for the ideas and support. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any black fusible on hand, so I created a patch out of the lining fabric. It looks neat enough and there’s no show-through on the outside of the dress. *phew*
Now, I just need to find the right necklace to wear with it. A dress like this deserves some fancy jewelry.










