Thursday, June 9, 2016

On Trend and Off the Shoulder

                     

So I was kinda in love with the Simplicity 8124 Cynthia Rowley off the shoulder dress when I saw it. It is fun and flirty and I thought it would be cute to make. I have seen pattern reviews and loved a few. I had doubts about the length and fabric fullness at the bust, but decided to give it a go.

                                       
My dress did not turn out as expected; it was a disaster! There is so much ease in this dress it was unflattering. The shoulders kept rolling up and when down, I felt like I could not raise my arms. I spent some time fiddling with it to make it work. In the end, decided to move on.


I thought I had a similar style in my stash and found Simplicity Jiffy 8978. I used it to make a dress a few years ago that was hidden in my closet. It was the look and feel for which I was going.

                                  
I shortened the dress to the point of the side slits of the pattern and whipped this up.


I love the narrower silhouette and wide drapey sleeves. The shoulders stay in place and are very comfortable.



I like that if I choose, I can wear the shoulders up too!


It feels good to bounce back from a sewing fail with a good result.



It was so fast to come together, I made another in an Ankara, wax print. 


The weight of the wax print is heavier than the lightweight denim of the other dress. This makes the sleeves stand up in a slightly more structured way and it gathers less on the elastic.


I love that a bold fabric like this wax print can take a simple shape and add some drama.


 This was the feel I was hoping for with my Simplicity 8124 version.


I compared the pattern pieces for both patterns to see the difference. There is an 4-inch difference at the fold on the front and back. That is a 16-inch difference around! The rest of the pattern is pretty much the same.

Cynthia Rowley -----------------------------------------Out of Print Jiffy
If you want a more streamlined version of the Cynthia Rowley dress, cut your size then fold that pattern down four inches before cutting your fabric. There is a wider triangular base on the C.R. pattern which you can taper down if you like. My concern was the bulk at the bust so I would leave that part alone.

Happy Sewing,
Bianca

18 comments:

  1. The Jiffy silhouette is so much better! Nice save. :)

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  2. The Cynthia Rowley pattern for some reason runs so big, you are so petite you probably should have cut a extra small. So glad you had another pattern. Love the Ankara print.

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    1. I am so glad I had the other pattern too! I think even the XS would have not looked right.

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  3. The Cynthia Rowley pattern for some reason runs so big, you are so petite you probably should have cut a extra small. So glad you had another pattern. Love the Ankara print.

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  4. I like this version of the the "gathered" shoulder" off the shoulder way more than that other ridiculously oversized pattern. So glad you pointed this one out for others to consider.

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    1. Thanks Andrea! The other was so awful I couldn't even take a picture in it!

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  5. Lucky you that you had the other pattern. Your stash pattern results are so much better and you look great in that version of the off shoulder. I too purchased the Cynthia Rowley pattern for $1 and now I think I will go web searching for the "jiffy" pattern you used. Love the denim and wax print dresses a lot.

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    1. Thanks Linda! I saw a few on etsy and ebay so you I think you will have some luck.

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  6. Great dresses! That sleeve shape and length is so much better for summer too.

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    1. Thanks! I will be wearing both lots this summer!

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  7. Bianca, you could make a gunnysack look fabulous because of your beauty. You do bold prints so well. As always your work is lovely. For an older pattern (70's ?) It sure looks current. I am curious, were there finished bust measurements on the pattern pieces for either company? And if so, what was the difference? Thanks for sharing your dress and your findings! And your shoes- wow!

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    1. Thanks Maureen, you are too kind! Bold prints go a long way for giving pop to the simple shapes I like. I checked the pattern pieces, the bust measurement is 32 1/2 and and I measured the dress flat and it is 40 inches. The size small CR pattern has a 32 1/2 - 34 1/2 bust measurement and a 60 inch finished measurement! Shoe wise, I assume you are talking about my awesome gladiator sandals? I am so happy I found them! They are by Breckelle's and can be found on Amazon. I have a skinny calf and these allow me to adjust them down.

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  8. I LOVE both dresses! Thank you so much for showing the amount of excessive ease in the CR dress. I wondered about that!
    Sue

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    1. Thanks Sue! I am glad I could help! All the reviews I read were raving about it. I wish I had that info before making it.

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  9. I'm in total agreement with Maureen's comments. As soon as I saw the first picture of your dress, I thought "wow!". Is the blue dress silk or polished linen? It looks like it has a sheen to it. The shoes!!

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    1. Thanks Tina! You are too sweet! The blue is a lightweight denim. No sheen, just my sparkle! LOL! :) I was given it by a friend and don't know anything else about it.

      Shoe wise, I assume you are talking about my awesome gladiator sandals? I am so happy I found them! They are by Breckelle's and can be found on Amazon. I have a skinny calf and these allow me to adjust them down.

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  10. Your dresses look really fab!!
    (16" is a lot of difference between the two patterns, wow!)

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  11. Both dresses are beautiful - love them!

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