Finally, after a long time, I am a part of the Belladone lovers club! And I'm infatuated. This dress is just adorable. I always loved the pattern, especially that green fabric the sample dress is made of. And OH I love this dress!
The fabric is a grey cotton with black flocked flowers. It has the slightest amount of stretch, just enough to make a tighter dress still breathable. I found the fabric at the value village in town and I'm fairly certain it is supposed to be curtain or pillow fabric. It's a very nice fabric that I found absolutely perfect for dress-making.
Fitting wise I took the advice of many many many other bloggers that I follow online and adjusted the back pieces to reduce gaping. I took out 1/2" out of the neckline pieces as well as another 1/2" out of the front bodice. About 2 inches up the V from the centre of the lower piece of the back bodice I removed a 1/2" to accommodate my rounded back. And finally, one last adjustment, I took a 1/4" dart out of the front arm scythe and twisted it into the bust dart.
After attaching the waist band, I realized the bodice was a little short so I sewed it on at 3/8" instead of 5/8" to add some length to the bodice so the skirt would sit more naturally. And let's talk about this skirt. I LOVE this skirt. It is by far my favourite skirt pattern I've used. The slash pockets are beautiful and the front pleats sit beautifully. The only skirt adjustment I made was turning the back skirt darts in to pleats for added bum space.
I decided to use black bias tape to finish the dress as I like the way it accentuates the back cut out and the beautiful lines of the pockets. My bias binding it's perfect and you can see the ripples in some spots - I don't mind that, it isn't horrendous. I opted against black piping at the waist seam as I felt it would make me look wider. Also, since I could slip into the dress, I sewed the centre back together at the bias tape and started the invisible zipper just below. I like the clean finish this adds to the back instead of a hook and eye.
All and all this one of my favourites. It fits nice and snug and all the cute details make me so happy. I feel adorable when I wear this dress in public and isn't that what we all want when wearing our me-mades? This one is a success - There will be many more Belladone dresses in my future.
Details
Pattern: Deer & Doe Belladone
Size: 12
Fabric: Cotton?
Alteration:
Size: 12
Fabric: Cotton?
Alteration:
- 1/4" dart from arm scythe twisted into the bust dart
- 1/2" removed from front bodice neckline to reduce gaping
- 1/2" wedge removed from upper back piece
- 1/2" wedge removed from lower back piece near centre back.
