Brocade Cowl Neck Dress

Vision: I really wanted this dress to be this knockout high cowl neck knee length dress. While I am okay with how it turned out, it didn't manifest exactly the way that I wanted it to. I think this was largely due to the fabric.

Fabric: I really wanted to love this brocade. I purchased this sometime back in March from Mood and I really hated it. It looked like a curtain. So it took a long time to figure out what to do with it . It unravels and wrinkles like crazy.

Pattern and Design Information: I used two patterns to achieve this look and freelanced a little bit. For the top, I used McCall's P499 and 6612. 499 was used for the base and the skirt as a unit. 6612 was placed over the front bodice, aligning at the waist, to get the cowl neck piece. The dress is fully lined with the lining sewn to the zipper in the back.

General Discussion: I think I want to try this again and use a wool crepe for the material. Something really crisp, but light with a considerable level of movement. I just love the fabrics from Elliott Berman Textiles. Nearly all of the fabrics that I ordered from there was amazing. I should say all. I added a bottom piece because yet again, it was too short for my liking. I didn't really like how this piece came out, but overall, I guess it is okay. For tailoring, I probably need to tighten the seams a smidget at the waist up to the curve of the lower breast so that the dress does not fall down below my breast. Oh, one last thing, I really think that I need bra straps, like to snap the top shoulder around by bra so that it does not fall down.

I really want to try this with a poufy skirt. What do you think?