Don’t you think this dress just begs to be made up for flirty spring and summer wear? So very coquette-ish, n’est-ce pas?
Designed for an experienced sewist, the challenging sew Anthea is described by Style Arc as “…the dress of the season, fitted bodice with a soft falling skirt, can be made with or without lining. This is the dress of the moment; wear it with your favourite belt, pop on the Hannah jacket for a complete look.”
I made up my version of this pretty, feminine dress from a piece of silky soft cotton shirting I bought last year, maybe at Sew Expo. Billie’s Designer Fabrics? Nancy’s Sewing Basket? I can’t remember for sure where my purchase was made, but I was saving this fabric for just the right garment. I think it was aging properly for the Anthea, don’t you? Ummm, those whimsical dark navy pinwheels on bright purple and off-white striped fabric are definitely fun and flirty, IMHO.
Obviously you can’t see, but I lined the dress in a very lightweight cotton batiste. No slip. No see-through. Win-win! I also had to lengthen the skirt about 3 inches. For some reason the Style Arc pants are super long and I never have to add length, but the skirts are way short for ummm, a woman of a certain age.
I made 4 fitting adjustments to this pattern: 1) petite’d (shortened) the bodice thru the armhole by almost 1/2 inch front and back; 2) added 3 inches to the skirt length; 3) added a forward shoulder adjustment, and 4) dropped the side front dart by 1/2 inch. I think the front fits perfectly! No complaints.
Grrrrr! What’s going on with that back armhole?
Hey! Where did this extra length come from? Am I shorter in my back bodice than my front bodice?
I guess I didn’t check the back view carefully enough with my bodice muslin. Sigh. Guess I will get to make friends with my seam ripper again. I am not sure I am up for putting the zipper in again, but I will definitely rip the shoulders apart and pull the back up a bit at the shoulder seam. Maybe that will make the back hang properly enough that I can live with it. Or I can always just throw a cardigan on, right? 😉
Just look at it from the front. With a little twirling it looks great! I am totally going to wear this dress with a smile on my face even if I can’t get the back fit perfected, and will just work on tweaking the fit on the next version. This dress is definitely a winner, and there will be more of them coming.
Happy sewing!
Maris