Simplicity 8689

I made view A, but with no sleeves or trim.  I used a lovely crinkly all-cotton double gauze that I found at Joann's when I was there looking for completely different stuff.  I have a conference in early September that is in Palm Springs and this pretty much fits the bill for at least the first day there!




I was really careful about the pattern matching in front!  There is a seam there at the base of the v.  The pattern also has princess seams going up to the shoulder in the front bodice, but no shaping in the back.




Note to self - need to tie back belt more neatly! Since I left off the sleeves, and since the fabric was pretty translucent, I self-lined the bodice section. But I forgot to raise the armholes! Therefore, I had to stitch on some gussets after the fact. They help protect my precious, precious modesty.

I also thought it'd benefit from a little structure around the waistline, so I serged a piece of elastic cording along that seam as I sewed it. I started by cutting the cord to a comfortable waist measurement and tying it with a double knot, then I carefully stretched and arranged it as I serged.

Then, at the very end, I cut it in half with the serger!

Fortunately, it didn't all pull out, and I was able to tie a 2nd double knot and will hope that it it stays.



Little white line in there is the elastic - it's not much but it really holds the waist in and makes it look a lot more graceful. VERY comfortable dress on hot, humid days!