Black Viscose Seda Dress

 

So this dress is actually a muslin...and a pretty poorly fitting muslin at that! But I LOVE it. And I have worn it out more than once, admittedly largely because I was determined to have a dress like this to wear to Christmas parties but ran out of time to make the sequin/velvet/other-extravagant-festive-fabric version. Luckily the black is pretty forgiving when it comes to poor fit/poor construction, especially in photos! It's highly probable that this will be worn again too (as I most likely am not going to get around to making that glamorous version any time soon) and I figured that makes it worthy of being shared with you guys.

It's the Seda Dress from Pauline Alice which was released towards the end of last year. I wanted it as soon as I saw a sneak peak she posted on Instagram before the patterns' release! I just love the design, it's definitely got a vintage glamour to it but yet feels so modern in a contemporary fabric. It feels wonderfully feminine and classy to wear and is a different kind of dressed up altogether than a lot of the RTW body-con party dresses that are everywhere nowadays. In general I'm a big fan of Pauline's design choices, drafting and construction. She often includes elements that push the skill level of a pattern slightly and make her designs unique. There's usually an aspect involved that I haven't tried sewing before and the techniques are always well explained. This dress is no exception.

I cut the size 38 as my measurements fell between that and the 36 and I thought it best to err on the side of caution. I definitely should have started with a 36 and done an FBA if necessary though. This has ended up a little roomy all over for my preferences but actually has a similar fit to Pauline's samples so I'd say the grading runs pretty true to size. As there are A LOT of fit changes I'd make next time I'll probably whip up another quick muslin of the bodice starting with the 36. I'd like the bodice to fit much more snuggly in general and would like to try giving it some structure with some boning to add to the 1950s glamour! I can understand why it is drafted with more ease though as it is marketed more as a daywear design. Luckily making it in solid black is pretty forgiving but the poor fit shows best in the side on picture above. It gapes at the back neckline. I've got way too much excess fabric under the bust and the sleeves slip down too low, which may have something to do with my elastic application.

The fabric is a super fine viscose that I picked up in Shepherd's Bush at least a couple of years ago when I found the plaid double gauze I used for my Zeena Dress. At the time I was intending on using the black to line the gauze but it found a better purpose being used as a muslin for this. It was mega cheap so actually has a few flaws and snags in the weave which I didn't notice until I got sewing. It's a shame as the dress has turned out to be wearable, but again the black is pretty forgiving and the dress is generally only going to be seem in dim party lighting! Despite being just what I had to had the fabric is actually a great match for this design as it's lightweight but has great movement and bounce which makes that skirt super frothy.

It was much too lightweight for the bodice though. That fitted shape and those sleeves need a little bit of structure so I underlined all these pieces in silk organza. I know, I know... silk organza for a muslin?! I had high hopes that this would end up wearable and it's one of my favourite sewing techniques/tricks so any excuse to get that in and I do! I really enjoy the hand basting and seeing the difference that the organza makes to the shape of the garment.

I'm generally not a fan of a gathered skirt as I don't like all that bulk around my waist so I adore that this skirt has a yoke that sits snuggly around the upper hips before the gathering starts around your bum. Ot means the skirt still has an amazing fifties style fluffy fullness but still has a slimming effect. It's hard to see in the photos but in the flat picture of the zip above you can see the bodice, yoke and gathered skirt portions clearly. The fine viscose I used helps with the bulk of the gathering along that seam line too.

As well as not being a fan of wearing a gathered waist I'm also not a fan of the process of gathering! Has anyone got any tips for making this quicker/more enjoyable? I've done the quick trick of gathering under the machine by pushing the fabric under the foot with the end of your seam ripper when gathering meters and meters of tulle on my tutu course...but that method doesn't work when you're trying to make even gathers a particular length on something like this.

The pattern only calls for the bodice and yoke sections to be lined but as this viscose is so lightweight it's practically sheer I opted to line the skirt too. I used the viscose to line the bodice and yoke as it's lovely and soft against the skin, but I didn't have enough to get those big skirt pieces out too (I think I had about 2m in total). Instead I used a cotton lawn which despite being a lightweight soft cotton, actually has a much crisper hand than my outer fabric. The addition of this really gave some oomph to the skirt shape which I'm delighted with. I hemmed the lining using my rolled hem foot; this usually gives a slightly fluted edge which adds to the bounce and fullness! The skirt itself I hemmed using my usual method for a long curved edge, which is to stitch a line 5/8" (the depth of the finished hem) away from the raw edge to begin with. This gives you a handy guide to press up along and the tight stitches also help to ease the long hem edge into the slightly smaller curve above.

Sleeve construction and under-stitching

I was really intrigued by the construction of the sleeves when I first saw the design but they are actually very straightforward to attach, just like you would any other sleeve. There is a small piece of elastic attached to the seam allowance across the of the sleeves to hold them in place which would work well if I had got the tension right when sewing it on! I found it tricky to tell how tight to pull it and should have gone tighter but I didn't want it to end up looking bunched up. However, the fact that it is attached to the seam allowance rather than the lining or fashion fabric itself really helps to keep a smooth finish on the outside.

Having the elastic there does make the under-stitching along the neckline tricky as you don't want to catch the elastic in the straight stitching and prevent it from doing it's job. The under-stitching is absolutely essential for this style though, the lining would definitely keep making it's way out of the neckline if you skipped this step. I also under-stitched my pocket openings to keep those pocket bags in place and it also adds a bit of extra strength to a seam which sees a lots of wear.

(Yes I have just discovered the burst function on my camera...)

There is so much to love about this dress, I'll definitely be making another and attempting the nail the fit. I love how it flares out from below the hips when dancing and did I mention that there's in-seam pockets too! The design does also include a simple gathered skirt and also a version which includes a shoulder yoke and optional long sleeves for those of you who don't want to/can't go strapless. I absolutely love Pauline's velvet version with the dotted tulle yoke! I've got my eye out for fabric like that now.