Simplicity 1250 Finished at last!

It. Is. Finished.

Well, actually, it's been finished... but I've also been lazy.

My planning post is here and my constructing post is here, both from waay back when, but there's no time in the internet, right?

And, as a reminder, here is the original pattern (which you can also find online here):

Simplicity 1250 Pattern

But putting procrastination in the past, I present to you, my 2014 CHRISTMAS DRESS!!! YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

The front w/jacket, not too shabby, eh?

Dress w/jacket detail

Dress w/jacket back

Ta-Da!  The front of the dress.

As you can see the peplum is attached to the dress itself, not the jacket.

The Back!

I did wear a petticoat under this dress (but not too floofy!).  I fioud it looked a bit more complete with it and balanced out my top half better.

Dress Bust Detail

The bust is pleated... yeah, that's all you really need to know.

Jacket Front

SO MANY BUTTONS.  I actually did not finish the buttons in time for the Christmas service I was singing at, so I ended up wearing the jacket without any.  I don't think anyone noticed, haha.  But I did go back since I had already bought all of them, and put every stinkin' shiny gold button on.  I love it, but it was a lot of labor (a labor of love?).

Jacket Back

Jacket Detailing

And for funsies, here is my inspiration and my finished product:

McQueen lookin' mean...

...versus fifties flirty fluff!

Mine is pretty tame, haha, but I'm also pretty proud of it!

Anyways, on to the nitty gritty (or what I can remember of it).  I covered most of this in my fitting/cutting out post, but there was at least one thing I wanted to add.  Match up the plaid on the sides.  Do it.  Not what I did (I forgot?).  I was very naughty.  Do as I say, not as I do, right?

As an overall review of the pattern, I really do love how it turned out.  However, I recollect that it was quite a bit of work and kind of fussy (BUTTONS, button loops, bias facings, boning, plaid - although the plaid mayy have been my fault...).  I cannot say I recommend the pattern for a beginning sewer, but maybe an average/mid skilled sewer who won't mind a little extra fiddley-ness.  And someone with a bit of time; it's definitely no walk-away dress!

Well, that's all I can think to say about it, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Simplicity 1254 Completed

A finished product, you say? How can this be?  I know; it's insane!  But I have decided to post a few of my projects I made before my blog or I just neglected to blog about.  And now I have evidence that I do get some things done! Ha!  I can't comment too much on what I did with the patterns and how I did it (I never kept track!) but I'll try to include as much information as I can.  Mostly, I hope this gives you a better feel for how some of these patterns look in real life.

Anyways, explanation done, here is Simplicity 1254!  I completed this about three weeks ago and never put anything up (so silly!).  You can find the pattern on the Simplicity website here.  This is the finished garment: 

Simplicity 1254, View B

It made up quite lovely and I'm thrilled with the result.  A few things I recall while making this pattern:

1.  The hips are very wide, so you may want to size them down.

2.  The sleeves are on the shorter side; I didn't hem mine at all and they're still a smidge short.

3.  The hood is much smaller than it looks; it's not really functional but more for show.

4.  The zipper was really easy to put in!

Overall, I'd say it would be smart to make some sort of muslin before to avoid any fitting issues.  But it's a really fun, really easy pattern!  I would highly recommend it for a beginning sewer.  I might go back and check what size I cut everything out, but if you have any specific questions, let me know.

Until next time!

-The Gretchen