Another New Prom Dress

Darn patterns!  I do not like how much ease is incorporated into ready make prom dress patterns.  It can mess up perfectly wonderful dresses and turn them into alteration nightmares. 

Ok, Joanns Fabrics is having the Own Your Look prom dress contest.  Naturally, I decide to make another new prom dress for it.  Prom was in a couple weeks anyway and a ginormous sale was going on at Joanns.  Casa Collection fabric for 50% off is a huge deal.  I get my fabric and embellishments or as many as I can considering that I went on either the last or the second to last day of the sale.  Everything was pretty much picked over, but I found what I wanted (even though I had to back six times). With that done and taken care of, I finished up school and graduated.  My school’s prom is weird since it’s after school is officially over. 

Anyway, so I start on the dress.  Following the pattern perfectly, I carefully constructed my work of art.  Even though it took me just under a week, I was very happy to finish up the last details.  Or so I thought.  Excitedly, I tried on the dress only to find that it was at least 2 inches too big.  I was very distraught (I still am a bit) and mad at the pattern.  Even though I had followed it perfectly, the dress still turned out too big.  I realized that I forgot about this annoying thing called ease that is included in every store bought pattern.  Boy, is it a hassle sometimes. 

Frustrated, I tried to alter that dress but to no avail.  I was still too upset about the mis-sizing.  So, I put (ok, threw) the dress in my redo corner and focused on the matching shrug instead.  The shrug turned out exactly as the pattern said.  I didn’t even have to alter the pattern for too much ease.  Heartened by the success of the shrug, I began to alter the dress.  At first it didn’t work so well till I prayed and got the idea to put darts in the bodice and an adjustable bow around the waistband.  Both alterations worked really well!  I reduced the bodice to nearly my size (I still have to put in a couple more darts) and made the waistband look like it actually fit me.  I just have to fix the skirt a bit.  Since the dress has a high waist, the skirt makes me look a bit (ok, more than a bit) bottom heavy and slightly pregnant even though I’m neither.  I know that because of the cut there is not much I can do, but I still want to try to slim out the skirt a bit.