Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Bebe Dress



Today was a fairly warm and wet day in Minnesota. However, I didn't let the rain stop me from having a photoshoot wearing my new dress! The best part is, the umbrella matches my dress perfectly! The dress is The Bebe Dress from Serendipity Studio. I got the pattern and the fabric for my birthday last summer and I just got started making it after Christmas. My mom did a wonderful job picking out the fabric - it has my favorite colors in it!

I wanted to finish this dress before the new year, so I could say I made two dresses in 2012. Although I was up sewing on New Year's eve, I didn't get it all done. Now I can say this is my first clothing project in 2013!



This is the second dress I've made, and the fit is perfect. I did make a muslin because I didn't want to mess anything up. Kay Whitt's patterns are always so easy to follow. I did ask her a few questions and she responded very quickly! The only changes I made were lengthening the skirt (since the pattern is made for someone with a height of 5'4 and I am 5'7). I also made an XS bodice and a S skirt, since my measurements didn't match up exactly and the pattern provides directions for doing so.




There are several variations provided in the pattern! I made mine with a pleated skirt, the shorter sleeve, a contrasting waistline band, and a bias hemband. There are darts in the front and side bodice too. The dress has an invisible zipper, which I had several problems with.

It was fun taking pictures in the rain!

The zipper seemed to go in alright. I used Kay's fabulous tutorial for putting an invisible zipper in with a regular zipper foot. I have put a few invisible zippers in before, so I had an idea of what I needed to do. First, I ended up sewing one side of the zipper on backwards, so I had to take it out. That was the only minor (or so it seemed) problem I ran into at that point. I finished the dress, put in the facing and the hemband and everything seemed fine. The dress looked great! Until....

I tried the dress on, the zipper got stuck and it broke! I could not believe it! All that work and the zipper decides to break. No matter how hard we tried, the zipper would not budge. I was very upset and I ended up putting the dress away for a few days. After an email to Kay Whitt, she told me I could leave the facings in but I would have to take the back seam out in order to replace the zipper.


I have to admit, it was a pain to replace the zipper, especially with the facings still in place. Once I sat down to finally do it, it didn't take too long though. The worst part was ripping it out. The zipper stops about 1/2 inch from the top of the back as you can see in the above photo. It's the only thing I don't like about the dress, but it's not really noticeable. Does anyone have any tips for making the top of the zipper look neat on a dress? This is something I need to work on in future projects.




This dress will definitely be a new favorite. I plan on wearing it a lot this coming spring and summer. I might even make another dress with this pattern - the gathered version would be fun to try.




Here's a close up of my earrings. My aunt made them and gave them to me for Christmas. I think they are very pretty and they go well with my new dress! 

~Elizabeth

4 comments:

  1. Elizabeth,
    Your dress is so cute! I'm loving it. It looks super comfy too!

    I also have issues with the top of the zipper sometimes. I read a way to fix it somewhere. You put bias tape all around the top of the dress there and then in the back by the zipper the bias tape covers the mismatched top part and you attach a hook and eye to each side. I wish I could remember where I saw it so I could show you with pics.
    There is a picture of it on this blog near the bottom: http://www.amandatakesoff.com/blog/2010/08/18/

    Let me know if you find out any better ways to do it! :D

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  2. Hi!

    What a beautiful dress!

    Last year I made a skirt with an invisible zipper and a waist facing--construction I think is similar to your Bebe dress. To show you how I finished the top of the zipper, I made a video for you and just uploaded it today. Here is the link: http://youtu.be/QIz6hayDuXU

    I also made a blog tutorial on how to insert an invisible zipper (which I shared with you before): http://artandneedlework.blogspot.com/2012/01/12012-tutorial-how-to-insert-invisible.html

    If you have any questions just let me know. I do hope my quick video will help you in your zipper sewing!

    Rebekah

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  3. Fun dress! Great to see another blogger from Minnesota. :) http://olga-kidapproved.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete