Valentine's Date Dress

You know how when you sew you think you need to make a new dress for every occasion? It doesn't even matter if that occasion is in the next 24 hours? That's kind of how I feel about this dress... The boyfriend and I planned to have a quiet dinner at his place with wine, lamb, creme brulee and a movie, so of course I figured I needed a new dress. Preferably one that I could wear to work that day and be comfortable in while eating large amounts of food. Ever since the early days of Pinterest, I've been dreaming about making this dress...



So I figured the need for a comfortable, work appropriate Valentine's Day Dress coupled with this weird piece of red 70's estate sale poly jersey (that smelled like moth balls as I unfolded it, how romantic!) would be a great opportunity to test out the Hope Wrap Dress from BurdaStyle as a possibility for the eventual navy dream dress. First lets look at it through the rose colored glasses of poorly lit photography before I start complaining...


The boyfriend likes this picture best so I'm including it for him, even though I think I look like a weirdo...



Overall this is a really awesome pattern. It went together really easily and quickly! The 2 issues I have with it are entirely my fault. First of all, it's an ungraded pattern and I was an idiot and didn't really pay attention to the measurements. In the picture, the girl modeling it looked close to my size and I figured since it was jersey it would be forgiving. It's not terrible but it is a little on the tight side. Plus I felt like my boobs were hanging out the whole time. Fine for Valentine's Day dinner, but it definitely required a safety pin at work. Good thing it's all ladies in my office so they weren't too scandalized.

Secondly, I decided to make this pattern the night before Valentine's Day. And I didn't start cutting the fabric until after 8pm. And I also washed dishes, put away laundry, changed my sheets, took a shower and was still in bed before midnight. So even though this is a quick pattern, I did a bit of a rush job and you can really tell on the trim/binding of the neckline. Plus I didn't finish the ties out of sheer exhaustion/laziness...

So in conclusion, I probably will wear this dress again, but definitely not to work, although it might motivate me to loose my 5ish Holiday pounds that won't go away. I also will probably make this dress again in my dream navy, but I'll grade the pattern up a bit and take my time. Also, every time I sew a knit project I decide I'm never sewing woven again because finishing seam allowances is the bane of my existence. Then I forget and sew something woven again. I guess it's like having babies, you have to forget how much it sucks sometimes so you'll keep doing it...

Hope you all had a fab Valentine's Day!


Don't forget, my Sew Grateful Pattern Giveaway ends tomorrow!