The Hot Dress

It's always nice when my husband compliments my outfit. That doesn't happen a lot around here, largely because there really isn't much to say about shorts and a t-shirt on a regular basis.

So it is nice when my husband declares I look hot in something. This is doubly satisfying when this something happens to be a dress I made.

Can you feel the hotness? I think that he was just impressed that I was in a dress, because that really wasn't the response I expected, but I'll take it.

The glamour shot shows off the princess seams a little more.

These were my first princess seams, and while they aren't perfect, I think they came out well.

This is Simplicity 2588:

I am pleased to say that I got the sizing close to correct, always learning from my mistakes. This pattern had a lot of new techniques for me, including princess seams and attaching a yoke. It's a very well-constructed garment, but it requires a lot of attention to detail in order to get the alignment just right - such as darts on the bodice lining up with pleats in the skirt, or having the yoke actually line up properly.

Ask me how I know this.

I'm not a huge stickler for details, but, then again, if I want my projects to look nice, I'm going to have to pay a bit more attention because I certainly don't want my garments to turn out like Denise's shirt for Theo from The Cosby Show.


I actually think about that shirt a lot while I'm sewing. I watched a lot of The Cosby Show when I was a kid, I guess it is imprinted.

So I find myself focusing in the same way I do when practicing Warrior III, or any other balancing poses. The yoga of sewing.

I just plunged in on the princess seams, but after I finished the dress, I did find a great tutorial online (is there anything that isn't online?) and came up with these quick pointers for next time:

stay stitch the straighter piece and clip the seams, then spread the clipped piece to match the curved piece and pin.

More on this next time.

Detail of the stitching on the yoke:


I'm not sure that I like the stitching, but I wasn't sure how else to attach the yoke, since it has a facing and there was no other way to close the front and the facing over the armholes. The instructions for the yoke attachment were the only confusing part of the instructions. This will probably call for more research.

My version it a bit looser and longer than the version on the photo, making for a more relaxed dress. But I think that a different fabric would totally change the feel of the dress, so it could either be casual or dressy. Even though it was a challenge, and I really wanted to find another more simpler pattern, I've already started another one.