Demeter dress, the palate cleaner turned binge

Last summer: I had just gotten back from a trip and was going to travel for work.  I really wanted a few extra items with me, so I made this while visiting my best sewing friend Tessa. The fabric is rayon from Otara in Auckland, from The Fabric Shop, and they still had it in stock when I went back the first time but I didn't take seriously a remake of this dress, and unsurprisingly now it's sold out.

I started out with size 4 and I shortened the waist by 1cm.  I didn't want to overdo modifications!  The fabric is really so exquisite, I love the pattern.  It is not a challenging make at all, very standard dress, easily done in my one day (I also made some underwear.) 

The dress is very wearable, rayon is a pretty decent match for it, but I think the pattern can handle more substantial fabrics. That is what inspired....a full on many-month (endless and painful) sewing binge while I failed to balance my new work and travel schedule with any free time for sewing.

Though it's quite similar to the Hinterland in theory, the high low shape of the bodice is subtly very different and rather more sophisticated. I love it whereas it took me awhile to like the Hinterland at all and I struggled to find the right size for me. 

However: the wearing ease on this is huge.  So much that it felt like it was falling off me side to side off my neck. And then I gave it away to a friend before I got proper pictures, so this is what I have left from my Instagram post: 

I moved on to a size 2.

I was able to cut down the pattern, just two little edges on the middle neckband and sides of the front bodice had to be creatively reimagined but I didn't have to reprint it.

I also cut off another 2" of the hem, as it just seemed too long to me.  I know it looks fine on, but I felt like I was swimming in it. This second version was absolutely a muslin that I was going to give away.

The striped second version has a lot more body to it.  I guess it's the combination of the shorter length and the fabric itself, which is tencel jacquard, rather than the super lightweight rayon.  I feel a bit silly with a dress that puffs out so much around me - I might undo the 1" bodice shortening!  I do think this length is more proportional. The fit in the shoulders is a lot better, the dress no longer slides side to side on my chest.  In the photos, this looks like it fits properly but I see that it hangs straight down from the bust, which the rayon didn't do as much.

Then I made that tactical error of buying quilting cotton. Ugh!!  I thought I had actually cut off the hem of the pattern, but I didn't. This version is thus size 2, full length, with a full length bodice as I undid the shortening on it. It is horrific as an adult dress, but useful anyway to test out the size.  However I was pretty over the dress at that moment!  It was surprising to see it looks good in the pictures since it feels really silly on me.  In the front, I like it, but in the back, the waistline does seem too low.  I also prefer the shorter length of the previous version.  

 

Made the tank top. It is theoretically very quick but the bias binding is a pain and I was so very tired of making these at this point...

And then the tank dress, no modifications, as I thought this could go to a friend who is longer in the waist than I am, and after the mushrooms version I wondered if a slightly lower gather line in the front would be better.  I made the tactical error of rushing into this right after the tank top without trying the tank on - but I wasn't really planning to keep the dress anyway. 

The tank style is too tight on me in the usual ways: the back is too narrow, my bias binding gapes no matter what I do, and the armholes are too high.  These all have easy fixes (except the bias tape issue).  The tank top is also very short.  The dress is too long for my taste but quite nice and floaty since it's silk - though in the photos it is floofier than it feels and I find the top to skirt ratio to be really offputting.  

Having finally made what feels like an endless list of this dress I am going to sit on it for awhile.  I liked the rayon first version a lot, though I felt like I was swimming in it I also adored wearing it.  I don't feel currently inspired to pull out any deep stash for this as most of my deep stash is Liberty Tana Lawn or lengths of silk.  I do think the blue jacquard is probably the best fit though I could do with the full length bodice on it.  Alternately it might be fun to do a serious redraw of the tank top dress with quite deep armholes and of course a cropped skirt.  My original feeling that a lot of body would work has not really proven to be true, I think the really floppy rayon created the best silhouette.