FO: Simplicity 2638

My wearable muslin for Simplicity 2638 is basically finished. I cut it out Friday night, cut the lining and interfacing and sewed the whole bodice Saturday, and sewed the skirt and put in the zipper Sunday. I just need to hem it -- which is convenient for photos because I can hide my socks under the skirt! It's chilly in here tonight. Pardon the sleepy face, it's late and I had a long day at work.

The fabric is an all-purpose cotton print from fabric.com. It's a bit heavier than the fabrics that the pattern calls for, but it still worked all right. It was very easy to sew with, and the pattern was really easy too. I lined the bodice with an ivory cotton voile that is really soft and pleasant! I had a little trouble getting everything to line up at the midriff yoke (there's a lot of layers of fabric right there!), but I don't think you can really tell on the finished dress. Here's a close-up:

I'm still figuring out my size with the Big 4 pattern companies. My measurements called for a size 12. I cut a size 10 based on the finished garment measurements, but I still had to make a few small adjustments at the end. The back neck was too wide causing it to gape, so I put some little tucks in at the neckline to take out 1" total width. And the arm holes were a bit big, so I put a tuck on each side to take out 1/2". The rest of the fit is ok, but I could have gone down a whole size based on the final size of the bodice and midriff.

I plan to make this again with a cotton lawn floral print from Fashion Fabrics Club. I'll probably cut a size 8 and make sure that the final back neck width and arm hole sizes are small enough since those were the only places where the exact sizing seemed to matter. I'll also spread the gathering of the skirt all the way around, instead of preferentially in front, since that results in an excess of fabric right at my stomach that seems a little weird. I ordered the fabric last week and am just waiting for it to arrive. At $2.80/yd, I'm looking forward to having a really well-fitting, inexpensive summer dress!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this dress turned out, considering this is still only sewing project #4! And this is the first sewing project where I haven't followed a sewalong or a learn-to-sew book, just the pattern itself. I've now brought the cost-per-use for my sewing machine down from $36.67 per garment (after 3 garments), to $27.50 per garment.