Some Mistakes Are Worth Repeating...

I made another Eva dress and this time I incorporated the seam allowance error of the first one into this project. The additional width of the seam allowance is probably why I didn't find this to be as oversized as some had warned.    

I did find another issue that I didn't notice in the first version. I found that the bodice "that sits at high waist" according to the pattern description actually sat at the lower end of my waist. I shouldn't really be surprised since I'm not exactly a tall person. I guess with the floral print version it wasn't as noticeable as well. I ended up taking in the seam in another 3/8" for a totally shortening of 3/4" from the waistline. The lower tier was also shortened two inches. And the sleeves were lengthened by an inch. The pockets were raised slightly but became the perfect height after I took in the waistline seam.   

There were other changes as well. 

The pattern calls for "Vilene tear-away" and to be completely honest I had no ideal what this was and looking at the photographs I assumed it was a type of interfacing. On the first version I used Knit-N-Stable tape but I really didn't find it necessary since it is finished with seam binding. Curious as to this mystery notion, I discovered that Vilene tear-away is a embroidery stabilizer that helps to prevent fabric from puckering and provides a smoother finish to edges. I can see with how the edges that are finished with the bias cut fabric could benefit from such a product but I didn't use any reinforcement on this version and I'm happy with the final result. No puckering and a nice smooth finish. It could be attributed to the fact that I used my walking foot for this project. I was too lazy to change feet.   

I used store-bought seam binding instead of cutting and making my own. I still had taupe coloured bias tape left over from the spring coat project. I used extra wide double fold bias tape for the dress hem and used narrow double fold bias tape for the sleeve hem and neckline finish.  

I didn't follow the order of construction laid out in the booklet. First, I started with sewing the shoulder seams, then the neckline finish before moving onto the sleeves. The pattern booklet suggests sewing a fitted sleeve with easing at the sleeve head. I didn't find this necessary at all since this is a well-drafted pattern. I had no problem flat pinning the sleeve in place.  

With the side seams left open, I then moved onto the skirt panels. First sewing the centre front and back seams then attaching the bodice to the skirt pieces. Sewing the pockets became one of my final steps and again I did things a little different. I didn't sew the pocket piece between the notches instead sewing it from top to bottom after I serged the curved edges. And instead of sewing a 1/2" seam allowance I sewed a 3/8" allowance.  

Once the pocket were stitched to the side panel, I pressed them open and pinned the side of the dress from the hem, through the side, around the pocket curve, turning at the side seam and ending at the sleeve side seam all with a 5/8" seam allowance.  

And this dress took me an afternoon to complete at a leisurely pace. Gotta love that!  

The fabric, shockingly, is a light pink colour. I know, I know, for someone who claims to dislike pink there seems to be a lot of it creeping into my wardrobe of late. The only explanation I can come up with is that it was on sale. Oh and it doesn't look so bad with grey hair. But I digress... 

I picked this 100% linen at Fabricland when it was 70% off. It was pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and then a tumble in the dryer before I steam pressed it with an iron. Even though it was pretreated in the washing machine I plan to hand wash it and hang to dry now that it is finished. It handled the pretreatment process without any issues and hopefully there will be no more shrinkage because I like how it fits.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2.6 metres 100% linen

Bias Tape:  2.8 metres

Pattern:  The Eva Dress by Tessuti Fabrics

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, sewing machine, serger, walking foot, tailor's chalk, measuring tape, tailor's ham, pressing mitt, many breaks, coffee and good tunes.

Happy Sewing!