I made a Megan dress!

Behold… I made a Megan dress!

A few weeks ago I picked up a copy of Love At First Stitch by Tilly Walnes, from the Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann City. (If you’re in Singapore, I really recommend the sewing book section there – there are a lot of books that have paper patterns included, including those from bloggers like Tilly, Collete Patterns and Gertie. I got a little over excited in the shop!)

I’d read the reviews for Love At First Stitch so I was pretty hyped for the book. And it totally lived up to expectation! It’s a gorgeous book, very beautifully put together – and Tilly has a lovely conversational way of writing which makes you feel like you’ve known her for years.

But I’ve gotta say, I found the Megan dress a real challenge. Nothing to do with the pattern or instructions – but just getting the bodice to fit. The pattern is drafted for a B-cup, but I am a C/D, so I knew I was going to need a full bust adjustment. But I wasn’t expecting that I would end up making six muslins of the bodice…

And on the plus side, I am now an expert at sewing darts after having done about 30 of them as part of this muslin saga!

In the end, I made a 1.5″ full bust adjustment, lengthened the bodice by 1/5″, and took 2″ out of the back neckline. I also shortened the hem by 2″.

And now it’s all finished! The fabric is a cotton poplin I bought at Spotlight.

I’m really proud of it. I’ve made it for work to force myself to wear the stuff I make on normal days rather than saving it for special occasions.

There are a few errors in it, but I’m okay with that (I’m telling myself). I’m not too crazy about the dart tucks around the bodice as they don’t seem to lie properly, and the zip is a bit stiff. But it’s all cool, because I made a dress!