Silk wrap dress

Pattern: Buttericks 5898, size 12. View B with sleeves from view A. 
Fabric: silk crepe (?), received as a destash gift

 This was made last spring, when all I could think about was make. all. the. dresses. Now my sewing mojo has left me for a long vacation in Timbuktu, but at least I have pictures to share, and a pretty dress to cheer me up. This is a dress I love despite it's small flaws. I feel elegant and beautiful when i wear it, and that counts for much more than everything else I have to say about this make. Note to self: silk is amazing, wrap dresses are even better.

I fell for the classic cut of this pattern, and the very feminine cascading wrap of the skirt. The construction features two cut-out darts pointing outwards (meaning that they start at the edge of the wrap and points towards the sides of my body), and lots of easestitching to fit the fronts into the facings. I was quite concerned while making it that it would en up beeing gathered, but it actually very effectively creates nice blousing while remaining securely in place, close to my body. I whish I could have gone the french seaming way to really treat this silk with the care it deserves, but the ties needs to pass into an opening that is placed in a side seam, and I could not figure out how to combine french seams with this opening. Also, I am not a big fan of facings in general, and here, well, I'm on the fence. They are a bit floppy despite that i invisibly catch-stitched them in place, but it is also the only finish i can think of that affords the clever easistitching action. And finally, I am not the one to make muslins of a loose-fitting dress, but I should have made an exception this time, because it turned out a little big. Now, it's a wrap dress, so it's not too noticeable as I can just pull the waist ties a bit tighter, but the shoulders are a cm or two too wide.

But I will definetely revisit this pattern. I have a lenght of 4ply silk I bought at Moods last year, sitting in my stash waiting for the perfct project. That might just be it, because this dress made me realise that I do not need a fitted bodice and a full skirt to feel feminine and amazing.