BurdaStyle #6060: The Kiki Dress cont'd

Exciting Update!!

The dress is by no means finished. I'm not sure if the 'color story' (thank you, Tim Gunn) is acceptable to wear in public.  I was really just trying to make a full test garment and see how the bodice ended up fitting when attached to the skirt.  The skirt I'm pretty much in love with. It's $5/yard heavy-duty cotton from Ikea meant for wall art, curtains, etc. - not exactly the type of fabric I intended to use (BurdaStyle suggested silk or lightweight cotton), but I thought I'd use it instead of the lifeless khaki color of muslin.  Because the design was 1-yard wide, I tried to do something symmetrical and cool with it. I folded the fabric in the center of what was a dandelion-type flower, and cut the center skirt panel from that.  I didn't want any more white in the front, so I used the plain gray from the edge of the fabric as my center side panels.  The back is what was left over of the design.  Not bad, right?!

I'm pretty happy that my test garment could actually pass for the real garment, at least from what you can see in the photo. The inside is a hot mess, and I didn't put in any buttons or zippers yet.  And I'm still wondering how to handle the whole sleeve business.  The back is still quite poofy, the front of the skirt isn't fitted enough, and the side seams of the bodice and skirt don't match, so I think I'll detach those two pieces and make some minor alterations.  It's not couture (yet), but I'm feeling much more positive and successful!

Do you think I could work this dress or is the whole look too far-fetched??  Maybe I'll keep the skirt and make a new top?

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Much unsuccess trying to get the right fit on the Kiki bodice (see past blog entry here).  I haven't even attempted the skirt yet, which I think I will undertake right now.

I've done about 4 test garments, all with slight size variations. I finally decided to just use one size instead of different sizes for the bodice width and the shoulder to bodice length. And it pretty much looks the same. Still too baggy in the back. I might adjust that later.  I also cut out the garment very messily out of some silk shirts I got at Salvation Army.  I like the color combo!

The real challenge has been getting the sleeve to fit well. On one test garment, the armscye was too far away from the body, which makes for limited arm movement. And then for another test garment, the sleeve seemed too heavy (maybe because of the heavy muslin?) and made the shoulder seam stick up from my shoulder.  I'm just leaving the bodice sleeveless for now until I can recruit some in-person or online help.  BurdaStyle sewing club brunch meet-up tomorrow!  Maybe I can get some insight.

Note: never stick your finger in front of the rotary cutter...

At least it's a clean cut...