Color Blocked Dress

(I must be losing my wit...my post titles have been quit lame of late. I'll try to do better next time!!!)

BURDA 05-117B-2009

Here is another dress I've been holding out on (sorry!!!). It is from the adorable Dresses Dresses Dresses Issue from this past May. After having a VERY difficult time locating this issue in NYC just days after it hitting the shelves (I guess all the sewnista's have my old spots pegged!) I decided to subscribe to Burda. Quite frankly, I don't know what I was waiting for...

Anyhow, back to the dress. I got this fabric from Metro Textiles for a excellent price. It's 100% cotton and appears to be a run-off from a designer named "Quest". As soon as I walked in I ran to it..I LOVE color blocking and design was funky enough for my taste and subdued enough for me to wear it to the office which is a major WIN!! If you ever get your hands on a fabric like this let me offer these suggestions:

• Ensure you have balance. Especially with a pattern like I used. The bodice alone has 8 pieces so it looks better if you maintain the the flow of the colorway consistent with each piece. Using this approach required me to think about pattern piece several times before cutting and I did not cut on the fold for that reason. I also bought an extra yard of fabric to give me more options when cutting. You don't want a garment with a large grouping of one color on one side and several colors broken up on the other side leaving it looking "unbalanced". If the latter happens it could potentially take away from the design of the pattern once complete.
  
• Beware of your lady bits!!! Don't leave oddly placed lines, flowers, cut-outs etc. around your chest or lower regions. Here is a good example of why you wouldn't want that.
  

The only fitting adjustments I made were to grade the from a 36 to a 38 at the hip and to shorten the hem by 2.5 inches. I'm only 5'3" so it was still at a respectable office length :-)

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The design does get a bit lost in the fabric pattern. I just want to show how pretty it would be even with a solid color.

Lastly, Happy Labor Day!!!!