Taking a Swing at it!

 This week has been very busy with all the details of this swing dress. I am very excited to be able to fit and sew along with Casey by my side, so to speak. Well, I was undecided on the fabric for awhile! I couldn't decide if I wanted a print or a solid. So, I have decided to make two of these dresses. Why not. Here's the first one, in red. I loved the red dress Casey made and I haven't had a solid red, everyday, dress for many years. It was about time.

This fabric is a linen look alike.

Ice storm took out one of our branches, the tree is over a 100 years old!

I need a new camera, for now these are the best pictures I can get from my bad camera! 

 I really worked on the fit for this one, and I mean worked sister, like a horse! I am pretty happy with it. As with all patterns, changes needed to be made. The beauty of sewing is you can also get creative and think outside the pattern box. So, I decided to make some little changes, they were to take the belt up a bit more and to top-stitched the skirt to add some detail. Overall, I got my education on fitting with this one. One mistake I made with this dress, was to cut off the extra seam allowance on the bodice, by the way a definite no no, before putting in the zipper and adding the sleeves. Doing this, I left no room for error, which could have left things too tight. It did turn out fine in the end. This dress is comfortable except for the sleeves, I am having some trouble raising my arms above my head, it's not bad just an observation, glad I am not in school where I would need to raise my hand. Not sure how to fix that, chime in if you have any suggestions. I am still sorting out the clues on this one, but think the armholes maybe a little low. Regardless, I would recommend this dress if you follow the directions from Casey's web site which include fitting directions. Happy sewing!

Have a wonderful vintage day!

Gina