Project: Kwik Sew pattern 3598

Saturday was a rather miserable day, cold and snowy and very unseasonable for the first weekend in April. I spent the weekend at my parents house and  had been considering trying to sew something for a while so when my mother suggested we make something, I jumped at the chance to have her expert guidance on a sewing project. Due to the weather we were limited on supplies, luckily the local quilting store had a few dress patterns and some very beautiful fabrics. I ended up with Kwik Sew pattern 3598, a modest shift dress, and found fabric that I absolutely fell in love with. I ended up making version A of this pattern which has a "jewel" neckline. 

Above is the a close up of the fabric I chose for the dress. It is cotton with a brown, salmon and cream design that I though looked art deco or art nouveau. Also pictured above is my finished dress. It took Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to complete but it would have taken much longer if I was trying to navigate the pattern and instructions alone. According to the measurements on the pattern I fell between a small and a medium, my bust being almost extra small and my hips definitely being a medium. Mom and I altered the pattern to fit my hips but after completing the dress I don't think that this alteration was necessary. I would have liked the dress to be more fitted and perhaps will take the dress in in the future.  

For now I am using brown grosgrain ribbon to give a more classic fitted look to the dress. The ribbon look isn't perfect and looks a bit awkward but I prefer it to the less fitted look. The pattern called for a zipper closure in the back however I opted for an improvised simple button closure. I sewed up the back of the dress to the lining leaving enough space for my head to pass through the neck of the dress. I was lucky to find a pink rhinestone flower button among my various random buttons, that matched the dress well.

I wore my dress today with a cream sweater from Mrs. Bolton's, the grosgrain ribbon, seamed stockings and brown pumps purchased from Payless. 

I look forward to making more dresses and improving my sewing skills. I think before making this dress I took my clothing for granted. So much work goes into even the simplest of garments.