Sew Over It: Betty dress
Hello and welcome! My name is Helena and I'll be discussing the Sew Over It Betty dress.
I'll first start out by saying, I love Sew Over It patterns, if you haven't already guessed. I have made two at this point in time.
Style
The Betty dress is a 1950 inspired dress. With a fitted bodice and a full circle skirt. I love patterns that nip in at the waist. This pattern also has the option of the additional necklines and sleeves as additional add on pack. I made the original neckline twice. I would love to make a V neck in the future.
Sizing and fit
This was actually harder than I expected. I made the smallest size (8) and it was still miles too big for my bust. My bust measures 31 inches, so I am pretty small anyway. I don't usually have a problem with Sew Over It sizing. The finished garment measurements for the bust is 34 inch, so that explains why I was drowning in the bodice.
The first dress I did not make any alterations, I found it very loose around my bust and the shoulders were too far apart, that it felt it was almost going to slip off my shoulders. The second dress I reshaped entirely. I first increased the darts by 2 cm on the from and 1 cm on the back. This still was miles too big. So I turned the darts into one long seam on the back and front. I am not sure it this just looks like a massive mistake or if it looks okay. The bodice was just so big I couldn't find a solution that wasn't unpicking the whole thing and re-cutting the bodice, which I didn't want to do. I finished all the edges with white bias binding. I also added pockets.
I think if I sew this again I will slash the bodice pattern in the middle and take from there to get closer to my size. As well as decrease the size of the back pieces, or figure out some other sort of bust adjustment.
I think if I sew this again I will slash the bodice pattern in the middle and take from there to get closer to my size. As well as decrease the size of the back pieces, or figure out some other sort of bust adjustment.
Fabric
The first one I didn't make any alterations to pattern, and I made it from a light weight quilting cotton. The second one I made from a stretch cotton from spotlight which I can not currently find on their website.
Instructions
As always Sew Over It instructions are great. I didn't find any confusion with the Betty dress pattern.
Photos
