OAL turns WDE

I thought experience improves sewing. Generally, it does. I just didn't learn from my experience with this dress that I made for the outfit sew-a-long. It is definitely my Worst Dress Ever. Here's the gem that somehow came out of my sewing room.

Yep, I was acting silly (might as well laugh at mistakes) and doing one of Lauren's (Ladybird) classic poses. The dress is S1803. If you want to see this dress made properly, check out Lauren's post . She made two awesome versions of this dress and has a number of tutorial posts for sewing it.

First, I'll talk about what I like about this dress. I was surprised that I could wear this style because it is quite different from my usual garments. I'll make it again at some point, but not right away. Also, I was pleased with the actual sewing of the dress. It was fun. The sewing isn't perfect, but is pretty good.

The problems began when I picked the fabric. I wanted a print and liked the colors which go perfectly with my OAL Myrna sweater. It has been resting in my stash for a very long time. Since it was a bit stiff, I washed it in coca cola. That helped and the drape seemed to be fine. I barely had enough fabric to cut out the dress. I tried to do some matching of the prints, but there was not enough fabric. I thought about stopping and using another fabric...sure wish that I had. Take a look at my scraps.

I did cut out the tie belt by shortening it a lot. Then, I decided that I didn't like it. Anyhow, I thought that I had the prints matched close enough at the seams but I was wrong. I was having fun sewing and didn't realize how bad it was until the photos. With the finished dress, I could see how cheap the fabric was. I doubt that I spent much because it's been around since I started sewing years ago.

This dress was a big disappointment. I won't say "learning experience" because I should have remembered what I already knew. I certainly was reminded!! I'm hoping my next sewing project will have better results.