Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Cynthia Rowley Dress Simplicity Pattern 2497

I have been wanting to sew a dress for myself for a while, but couldn't decide on anything. I found several Cynthia Rowley patterns on Simplicity's website that I really liked and I kept coming back to them. On Saturday, I finally took the plunge and bought my pattern.

I started with a muslin mock up so that I could get the fit right. I'm really glad I did. It looked like a balloon-y sack when I finished it. I brought the waist band up by shortening the bodice and I took in the side seems a few inches (on the bodice only). I also took 2 inches off the largest part of the of the width of the ruffle. As much as I loved the pockets, I didn't want to add bulk to my hips so sadly, I omitted them.


I'm really happy with this dress and its fit. I really enjoyed sewing it, especially because of my new machine. It just makes everything better. I'm also pleased with the finishing details that I used on this dress like french seams. I also conquered my zipper fear and put my first invisible zipper into this dress. I found a great tutorial online that made it so much easier. Now I just need to conquer my fear of sewing with knits. I think this pattern was easy to follow and I would really recommend it to anyone, with the suggestion to sew a mock up first to check for fit.



6 comments:

  1. GREAT job Jenny! I'm impressed. The dress looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I agree with both Katie and Julie. I just need to learn how to sew using clothes patterns. Maybe this summer I will come down for a lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very stinkin cute! Nicely done and good changes! Love the ruffle collar!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So cute! Youve got mad skills!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this dress! I found your blog because I was searching for people who had completed this particular pattern - I have a wedding to go to in March and am in LOVE with this dress, so I wanted to read what other people had to say before I dive right in. Your post was very helpful re: sewing a mock-up (wasn't going to but probably will now), and for the zipper tutorial - I have never installed an invis zip before and am scared silly at the thought! How many sizes did you end up going down, in the end?

    ReplyDelete