The "Copycat" Dress

Fabric:  2.5 yards of navy blue knit from Joann's

Pattern: Simplicity 2443, View A, Size 14

Year:  Current

Notions: 7" invisible zipper, thread

Time to complete: 4 hours

First worn: To work - July 22, 2013

Total price: $1.99 for the pattern, maybe $4/yard (?) for the fabric: <$10
Wear again? Yes, after some minor alterations

As I have said before, I tend to copy the pattern exactly on the cover with respect to fabric.  I'm not very savvy when it comes to fabric and I have a ton of quilting cotton in my stash (when I was starting to sew I was doing a lot of crafty sewing and making children's clothes).  So when I bought this pattern at Joann's I immediately purchased the same navy blue knit to go along with it.  Unfortunately, Joann's is the closest and cheapest place for me to buy fabric.  Its not the greatest for quality and options in apparel fabric.  I wish I had a Michael Lavine's or a Mood right around the corner but I don't (Have you seen these places?  Where does one start?!).  Plus I'm a tightwad when it comes to buying fabric and those 50% coupons really come in handy.  We do have a local fabric shop in Salt Lake City called Yellow Bird Fabrics, but fabric from there comes with a hefty price tag that I can't splurge for right now.

I'm going to have to work on the photographer!  Or is it the model?

I completed all but the hem on this dress March and just now finished the hem.  It was staring at me hanging in the laundry room just begging me to be worn.  So I whipped up the hem the other night and voila, here she be.

I love this dress.  Except.  There is some strange bunching up on the side of my bust that drives me insane.  I think that I need to clip the seam allowance a bit more and hopefully the seam will lie flat.  A colleague at work said this is happening because I'm not full on the sides - duh.  I'm not full anywhere!  I'm pretty pleased with the results.  One thing I learned is to let the dress hang for a couple of days before hemming.  It helps a lot with the drape in terms of hemming!  Who would've thunk?

Closeup of buldge on upper corner of bust.