Pattern Review: Burda 6785 The Purple Dress

 
I’ve been sewing through my ITY knits, if you’ve been reading, you remember I purchased a bunch of it as a newbie sewist.  I love the print on ITY and I really like dresses that show off my shape without being too tight.  I like to look classy, not cheap and to me, lightweight ITY stretched to it’s limit can look cheap IMO.

I’ve been hanging out with some ladies from my local Red Hat Society, and let me tell you, these ladies know how to have a good time!  I’m considered a “Pinkie” since I’m under 50 yrs old and really, they have way more fun than I thought!  You can hear and see them in any establishment and it’s fun and freeing to be yourself and or a more glamorous version of yourself.  You will see bling, boas and large Derby/church hats.  The only rules are you have to have fun and depending on your age, you wear a red or pink hat and lavender or purple attire.

I only have a few pieces of lavender and I really wanted to make my dress while sewing from my stash.  I also like being my own advertisement, people are always amazed when they find out you’ve made your outfit.  I used this fabric here and now I only have about a yard left so maybe I’ll probably make an infinity scarf to wear to events.

On to the review:

Pattern Description:

 
Very feminine pieces made of jersey and to feel at ease at all times and
situations. Both the shirt and the dress have a nice waterfall neck and
gathered side seams with charming tiny folds.

SEWING LEVEL: Confident beginner (sewing with knits, hemming knits, working with elastic)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

 
Yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?

 
Ok, so these are Burda so not as much hand holding as Indie instructions, but they are good.  The dress is pretty straight forward.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

 
I like both views, for a top and dress views, I like how simple it is and the different sleeve lengths. The front pattern piece takes up a lot of fabric as an FYI, another reviewer stated this so I was prepared, no real dislikes.
Fabric Used:
ITY knit
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

 
I used 3/8″ clear elastic for the ruching, I made a sloping shoulder adjustment.  I cut a 22 at the shoulder and armscye and graded to a 24 at bust, waist and hip.  I didn’t do my normal sway back because of the ruching.  I did a bicep adjustment and lengthened two inches.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I will make the top and dress again, it’s simple and a very good look on me. I recommend it, it’s cute and simple, a good quick dress, good for beginners.

I used Coats eloflex stretch elastic instead of my serger and coverstitich machine.   Eloflex is used on your regular sewing machine just like you would use with all purpose thread.  I used it in my bobbin with a jersey needle.  I used a straight stitch for all construction and hemming.  The eloflex kept shredding while sewing so I’m not sure how I feel about it.   I will do some more research on using the thread to see if I can minimize the shredding.  It did give a nice finish as opposed to the lighting stitch which doesn’t give a smooth side seam finish.  The thread was nice to use for hemming, my hem wasn’t wavy and I didn’t use a twin needle.

Have you tried Eloflex stretch thread?  Do you have any tips?