sewing

BurdaStyle Ruched Sheath Dress

 

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This is my version of the Short Sleeve Sheath Dress 04/2017 #107 from BurdaStyle.

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But let’s talk about this fabric for a moment, shall we?!? I am LOVING. THIS. FABRIC. My camera has a hard time reproducing colours in the red-pink range accurately but it’s definitely a lovely magenta and indigo blue — two of my favourite colours. It’s a cotton-spandex-rayon blend jersey knit with ikat print I bought from Girl Charlee (no affiliation). And honey, it’s currently on sale for $3.75 per yard, and at the time I’m writing this they have over 700 yards in stock. (There is a also a coral and navy version of the same print, if that’s more your jam.) So go buy *all the yards*, and show me what you make with it!

I bought three yards, and my $11.25 order cost $18.90 to ship to Canada <ANGRY SIGH>. But! I figured the total cost of $30.15 US was actually worth it for 3 yards of this great fabric. Those gorgeous, saturated colours survived the prewash quite well. The weight of the fabric (they describe it as 8oz light- to mid-weight) is perfect for this dress, and with the leftovers I’ll make some kind of flowy t-shirt or tank.

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Just when you think ruching is meant to disguise a multitude of sins, you realize it can actually emphasize the roundness of a slight potbelly. <RESIGNED SIGH> I wonder if I should have taken in the side seams for tighter fit around the belly to mitigate this? However, I had already fussed with 3 separate episodes of ruched-side-seam ripping and resewing so it’s not like I’m gonna do it again! Regardless, I still feel like a million bucks in this dress.

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I modified the design slightly to make it sleeveless — the original version has short sleeves — and to include slits at each side of the skirt. I also had to trim down the size 36 (the smallest size available) to fit my smaller frame, especially in that upper back piece. Instead of using bias strip finishes around the back opening and armscyes as directed, I just folded over the seam allowance and stitched with a twin needle.

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I’m not entirely convinced I got the hem length right…maybe it should be shortened by an inch or two. What do you think?

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Is there a prize for awkward modelling? I was losing my balance here like the graceful swan that I am. lol

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Thanks so much for stopping by!

— Lori

 

8 thoughts on “BurdaStyle Ruched Sheath Dress”

  1. The first thing I thought when I saw this was “the length is so fresh” so, no, I don’t think the length should be changed. It’s gorgeous. Great make, I can see this with sneakers and a denim jacket for casual too.
    Also I hear you on postage. Recently I won a mood voucher, they don’t ship to NZ so I got the parcel shipped to a friend in NYC and then paid over $100NZ to have it shipped to NZ and when it arrived half the order was wrong. Like really wrong. They offered a refund or a replacement but only shipped to US so I chose a refund and because I was using a voucher they have refunded me $4 USD (which is a portion of what I spent over and above the voucher I won.) So basically I’m out over $100 and only got half the fabric I wanted. #moodkiller I think shipping from the US is crazy. In the past I’ve ordered the same items from the UK section of the same website because the shipping is literally half the price. C’mon!!!!
    Anyway sorry to rant in your comments section but it’s just ridiculous isn’t it?!

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    1. Naomi, I’m more than happy to host a good rant here in the comments! You are so allowed to rant. I feel bad for even complaining relative to the cost of shipping to NZ! That really sucks about Mood…sending BIG FROWNS their way. 😦 😦 😦 Also, thanks for the sneakers/jean jacket tip…definitely going to take your advice on that.

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  3. Gorgeous dress! Love the fabric choice AND I’m a BIG fan of ruching down the sides. It’s my go-to when something is too long in the body or sleeves. I’m in Victoria BC Canada and resonated instantly with your shipping/dollar difference/and sometime customs (fabric.com ALWAYS has customs charges attached) pain. I have stopped ordering fabric from the US completely because really you have to double the price to accurately discern what you’re paying in CDN. There are enough sellers now selling in Canada and the UK to keep us happy 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Kathleen! It’s true, there are some good Canada-based retailers like L’oiseau fabrics and others. What I need to do is just stop looking at the US sites so I don’t fall down the MUST–HAVE–THIS–FABRIC rabbit hole!

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      1. You might like to try Simplifabric – they have absolutely gorgeous fabrics at a good price – great sales and points. Another one I like is Blackbird fabrics too 🙂

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