After reading the review of La Mia Boutique's May 2013 magazine on Paunnet's website I knew I had to own it. My lack of fluency in Italian would not be an obstacle to the having of this magazine! (And between my knowledge of both French and Spanish and the sewing princess' helpful magazine terminology translations I figured I could manage)
I purchased a copy of the LMB May 2013 Grace Kelly inspired issue from aroundtheworldnyc.com. They sell back orders of many fashion magazines. If you're lucky enough to live in NYC they have a store, Otherwise everything is available for order.
Receiving pattern magazines in the mail is one of the most exciting experiences. It's like Christmas all year round. I'll just have to watch my bank account isn't depleted from this discovery!
Anyways back to my new dress! Eee! I love it! I choose this dress because of the pockets. I love me a dress with pockets and this dress had pockets I've never tried before. I've only seen in-seam pockets. These are diagonal cut pockets. I took my time and understitched the pockets to keep the hem rolling inwards as well as to add more strength to them. Pockets get a serious workout when I wear them so I want to reduce the risk of a hole!
The spongey quality to the fabric makes it feel similar to neoprene. And this has both benefits and drawbacks. A benefit of it is the lovely stretch and recovery. It required no exceptional fitting in the bodice as the fabric stretches nicely across the ladies. Another benefit is not needing to finish my edges as the fabric cuts smooth and doesn't fray! Yay!
The only drawback I have with this fabric is the bulk it has at the waistline. Mostly crossing the pockets. I had 4 layers the sew through and I worried my needle would skip. Luckily my Grandmothers Singer sewing machine has heft and she powered right through those 4 layers laying at their spongey attempt to block her way!
Also, I sewed everything with a straight stitch. I don't like the look of zigzag so I avoid it whenever I can. I'm just extra careful when pulling my dress over my head so I don't snap my stitching.
Pattern: La Mia Boutique Dress 3 May 2013
Fabric: neon green polyester - sponge like texture with plenty of stretch
Size: cut the 46 bit ended up grading down to a 44 for the top
Alterations:
-omitted the zipper and reduced the centre back piece. Cut piece on the fold to eliminate centre back seam.
-added extra pleats in the front and back for more fullness in the skirt
- omitted the sleeve band
-sewed waist seam at 1 inch
- chopped 5 inches off the skirt bottom
