Summer Crafting: Getting Somewhere with the Hepworth Dress

OK, this dress (as matronly as I EVER intend to wear) is not perfect by a long-shot, but it is, well, wearable. Moreover, the sloper, on the basis of what this muslin has taught me, is now in excellent shape:

No, I couldn't take a good photo to save my life the other day, but I've learned that people don't really care. They just like live-action shots, apparently, gorgeous or no. Alas, vanity is such a bitch.

Intriguingly, this version was almost lawn fodder. So close to being someone else's dress because, the v-neck was too long (aka puffing away from my chest and not sitting flat). Happily, some friends referred to the fix, shown below as, ahem, the deflated upper bust adjustment:

I invested precisely 10 minutes in making the alteration and sewing in 2 pin tucks on either side, where the gape was. I didn't remove the facing (just sewed it together with the outside fabric). I didn't use a ruler (I couldn't be bothered), I didn't make the stitching lovely (you can't see it). But, man, if it didn't fix the problem on the fly!

Everyone was all: I love that neck detail!

Note: I altered the pattern, for next time, to shorten the neck (closed dart) but to deepen the V, which is really still too high. This is an area where depth and length are very different things, though they seem one and the same.

Another problem, in this version of the dress, has been corrected on my newly-minted, hard-won (and sort of accidental) woven princess seam sloper, for the next go round:

See how the back bodice is still to long at the base of the armpit? It produces that little bubble (which is nowhere near the disaster, which occurred at the waistline, in the last version). I've fixed that by taking another dart wedge from the centre back seam tapering to nothing at the armscye. In total, I've removed 3 inches from the back length of this pattern and lengthened the front by 1.5 inches. Yes, peeps, that gives me a level waistline.

Finalement, Andrea (who took these pics at our recent photo shoot) and Sara were on about the fun photos, which was code for doing crazy things with facial expressions or arms. Given that this is the first time I've shaved my armpits in about 6 months, I'm all for showing them off: 

What do I think of this pattern?

• I have nothing but positive feedback about it, despite the challenges I faced, given my shape and proportions. It's beautifully drafted. It's highly wearable. I believe it will work on many bodies. It can be dressed up or down.

• Having said that, I do find this dress on the conservative side for me. It really does suit my sister's style more than mine - particularly if made in a conservative fabric (like this rayon challis). Next go, I will shorten it by an inch or two, and I intend to use contrasting fabrics for the bodice and skirt. I'm thinking of making it in more structured (vs drapey) wovens or stretch wovens.

• This pattern is drafted for a woven fabric and, despite the fact that I like to believe this challis has 10% stretch (to make me feel like fitting will be easier), I've been advised that I'm high on drugs. All the stretch in it is mechanical and it's minimal. 

• When next I use a stretch woven for the bodice, I'll need to confirm that it has good recovery and minimal stretch. I do have a swiss dot in black that fits that description and I think it would go well with a rayon "denim" skirt (the likes of which I used to make this wardrobe staple).

• While it's not overly flattering in the photos, it is a very lovely dress in action. I got lots of compliments on it - on fabric, cut and fit. I'll wear it, if only for the novelty, until I have a better fitting version.

So, thoughts or feelings? Would you make this dress? Do you like the fabric? Do you find it ridiculously conservative? Let's talk!