Wow, I can’t believe we’re a fifth of the way to the end …
Here is another dress from the same pattern as yesterday’s (Simplicity 5723):
(I blogged about this one last year, with worse pictures.)
Here’s the pocket, self-lined:
The back (Simplicity 5723 has a center back seam, which is a little bit of a pain):
The bodice/neck (I really love this fabric):
And the zipper, which is a definite C- minus on the McKean Scale of Zipper Eptness:
I generally end up wearing this dress with a cardigan (in teal, brown, or that mustardy-gold), a mustard-colored belt, and brown ballet flats.
(Today’s rollovers from Camopedia, which may be my new favorite website …)
I keep forgetting to add that there are several spreads from The Hundred Dresses up on “Inside the Book” at Amazon, if you’re looking for a sneak peek!
A Dress A Day 
the success of camo depends entirely on what you are standing in front of.
what would be camo for an enormous pile of fabric…
good pockets.
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McKean Scale of Zipper Eptness! I set in an invisible zipper yesterday that was probably an A- (my best ever); the side seams actually came within a millimeter of matching. Too bad the dress wasn’t for me; it’s a giveaway for a beloved family member so I won’t be able to pull it out periodically and admire my handiwork.
The neckline on this dress is SO smooth and flat. Do you have a secret, beyond understitching and judicious pressing? Mine are never that pretty.
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I have no idea why this neckline worked out well — I think it’s because the fabric is a really smooth and tightly woven poplin, and slightly thicker than normal poplin, so it doesn’t show the edge of the bias tape underneath it.
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In an earlier post you said you didn’t know why you were showing the zippers. I’m just glad you do. It gives me hope. I am a terrible zipper installer, in fact, I just recently had a D zipper of my own and I felt like such a dork. I did it again and it came out a B+, so it was worth it to redo. Anyway, I’m glad to see your zippers. If someone who has installed hundreds of zippers still has less than perfect zippers, than I’m not doing so bad with my occasional Ds after installing dozens. 🙂
Love your dresses. I love your fabric choices. they really show off your sense of humor. 🙂
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I’m so enjoying your posts of your dresses. I am so impressed that you’ve made so many. They are all adorable in style and fabric. I so love your style!!
I see you grade your zipper application in every post. I will say that if you’ve never tried a concealed or invisible zipper foot, I think you would love it. I am an engineering nerd and have a serious “sewing machine foot” fetish. I love all kinds of snap on sewing machine feet to make things easier. I think a while back you bought a Juki machine. Not sure the model, but I found two on Ken’s site that fit Juki machines. I have a Janome and love mine. They make invisible zippers so easy.
http://www.kenssewingcenter.com/juki-concealed-invisible-zipper-foot-p-30112.html
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Oh, thank you! I have an invisible zipper foot but it’s not quite right. I’m going to order that Juki foot, I can see already that it would be better …
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There are two Juki invisible feet on Ken’s site. I don’t know what model machine you have. Make sure it is the right one for the machine.
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Erin, I’m curious as to why you don’t take advantage of that pesky center back seam to put the zipper there, instead of the side seam. (Can you tell how much I love side seam zipper placement?) Is it to stay true to the vintage design, or are you just a glutton for punishment? 😎
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Heh, despite their difficulties, I much prefer side zippers … I have an old shoulder injury that acts up every once in a while, and when it’s in the acting-up stage, reaching to the middle of my back to zip something up falls somewhere on the scale from “horribly awkward” to “downright painful.”
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Erin, I’m really enjoying these dresses. I’m reading them backward for some reason. Anyway, an actual question: Is the center back seam necessary? I’m very tempted by this dress, despite being a newbie sewist who has yet to make a dress, and I’m wondering why there are two pieces to the back instead of being cut on the fold.
Thank you very much for this journey of the dresses!
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Thank you! Honestly, I don’t remember why this one had a center-back seam … it could have had a back neck closing that I just decided to ignore. 🙂
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