Pocketed Charleston Dress

I finally finished the Charleston dress that I cut out almost 3 months ago (give or take, I don't actually remember). When I bought this material originally, it was for a maxi skirt. Since then, I have lost interest in maxi skirts for a variety of reasons (mostly when I walked around with them I hiked them up anyway because I take really long strides and get warm quickly), and so I repurposed the fabric into iteration 2 of the Charleston dress. I wanted to try a version with the sleeved bodice and the A-line skirt with pockets, and although this fabric was a little flimsy for that, I'm happy with the result.

I didn't bother pattern matching, as you can see, and it has yet to bother me. The neckband is the best one that I have attached yet, but we're still not best friends. Maybe the next one will be perfect, or maybe we will just stay frenemies. Either way, I don't have any glaring mistakes on this one! (I think, please don't burst my bubble) 

The goal for this dress was a work appropriate dress with pockets, and to finally get a neckband right. Mission: Accomplished! Once I finished it, I wore it for 4 out of the next 6 days, in part because I like it and in part because I just got rid of most of my other dresses in the great purge of 2016. Thank you to my lovely sister for taking these pictures, and to my lovely dad for letting us borrow his phone because it had the best camera, and no thank you to Ally for leaving me to go to the Czech Republic for a few weeks. 

Details

Pattern: Charleston Dress from Hey June
Material: From my stash, originally intended for a maxi skirt, a jersey knit of some sort
Modifications: Added 2 inches to the body, 3 inches to the skirt, increased the size of the armsythes to accommodate my shoulders properly, and graded in at the waist. Next time I will add another inch to the body, the waist hits a little higher than I would like.
Learning: I finally got the neckband right! I just didn't bother pinning it before sewing, and stretched it pretty evenly around as I sewed so that it lay flat. This was my first time adding sleeves to a garment, and it was easier than I thought it would be. Basting everything together to check fit and keep things in place was one of my best discoveries ever, it might take some extra time up front but is totally worth it.

Next up: Chino pants! This new discovery of sewing pants that fit me is life-changing, and I want to make more.