Vogue 7231 - 1952 The Slim Chemise Dress is Finished.

 The dress is finally finished. I'm not sure if I should cry in relief or anguish. It was baptism by fire for pattern drafting and I'm not entirely sure I succeeded. Here's the dress on a hanger. The previous top had problems with the neckline being to small and this final draft of the dress has the neckline to large. Somewhere there is a Goldilock's neckline, but I haven't found it yet.













Garment Finish: I made mistakes and plenty of them.
The choice of fabric is poor. It's a soft lightweight suiting in a glen plaid which doesn't show up in the photos at all. It's there. The suiting shows every stitch. Even after being careful the hem shows. The suiting is as a loose weave. This means the V-neck slash is prone to stretching and raveling. Therefore the neckline stretched as well as the center V. There maybe no amount of careful pressing that will save those hot messes. C-

Fit: The dress looks to be an absolute disaster, especially on the dress form and I would definitely pass the dress by if shopping by hanger. On me? It's okay. Surprising, it's better on me than the dress form, usually it's the other way around. B

Choice of Materials: It's a stash piece of fabric. I have long since forgotten where and when I purchased the piece, but I do know that it was bought during a time of my life when money was very tight. I'm quite sure it's a poly/cotton suiting. I like the color and the plaid, which you simply don't see in the photos.
I think dress would be best in a cotton or cotton/linen blend, something a little crisper and with a tighter weave. B-

Style and Wearablitiy: The dress certainly transfers to today's wardrobe. Modern fabrics and colors would work very well. The dress is comfortable to wear and very forgiving to those with fluctuating waistlines. I'm actually surprised at the fit. Given what it looked like in my sewing room on the dress form I had been very reluctant to finish the garment and declare the whole project to be a wadder. The same fabric tie belt helps create a unified silhouette. A-

Overall: B-
I might just try this one more time.