Edgewater Dress

This one is a winner, I think. It is the latest pattern published by the Sewing Workshop, the Edgewater dress and skirt. I think I wear dresses more than skirts so I made the dress. I might make the skirt later.

The pattern calls for knits, except for the lower bands. I had enough of these three knits to make the dress with color-blocking, but not enough of any one of them to make an entire dress. So that decision was easy. I was not in the mood to buy more fabric. And, I'm delighted with this result.

The knits are not entirely compatible. The red, as well as the navy-and-white stripe are rayon + lycra, whereas the cheddar color is cotton + lycra. I think it works anyway. Knits are so forgiving. 

I took measurements and decided on the size S. Though I measure a size M, I chose size S. I don't like too much ease through the shoulders and bust and there is plenty of ease through the hips in a size S. I also made my usual forward shoulder adjustment. And I removed 1.5" out of the lower circumference of the short sleeve. This was to prevent the sleeves from *winging out*.

It is very easy construction, so I jumped right in after reading the instructions. I was almost ready to sew the bottom panels when I spotted a FB post showing a customer's finished dress. Amy, the poster, is 6' tall and her size M finished plenty long for her. I checked and the length difference between the S and the M is miniscule. I am 5'5". 

The pattern contains lengthen/shorten lines in two horizontal lines on the dress. I shortened the dress by 3" by spreading that over the lines (1.5" each). This created quite the jump along some seamlines, somewhat worrisome on the curved seams.

Luckily I had not sewn any side seams. I was able to lay out the pieces one at a time and recut with the adjusted pattern tissue. 

As for the curved seam, I held my mouth just right and did my best. Because these are knits, I knew that I could smoosh things pretty easily.

I thought that this dress pattern was quite similar to TSW's Memphis dress. It is similar, but it is also quite different. And I believe I like it better than the Memphis.

What a fun pattern to make. I hope I wear it a lot.