Finished Project: Simplicity 1158 Hack

Pattern: Simplicity 1158, with alterations
Fabric: silk jersey from Metro Textiles

Most people, the night before going to a friend’s wedding, would already have something picked out to wear.  However, I’m not like most people, and decided at the 11th hour to make a new dress to wear to the wedding the next day…because it’s not like I have a closet full of dresses, right?? [insert sarcasm here].

I planned on wearing a Georgia dress that was already in the works, but I hadn’t factored in the amount of stretch in my fabric when making my muslin, and the almost-completed dress required a lot of fitting and taking in throughout.  That didn’t seem like any fun at all, so I instead decided, at 9PM the night before, to pull out my patterns and fabric stash to see what I could mashup in a hurry – how about a cute jumpsuit out of some silk jersey?  Perfect.

Yup, this dress started as a jumpsuit, like the original pattern.  Once I had the shorts attached to the bodice and tried the jumpsuit on, something just wasn’t right…maybe it was the proportions of the length of the shorts to the bodice, the fit – I’m not sure.  I loved how blouse-y the bodice was, and it reminded me of a dress I made a few years ago that had a similar bodice but with a slim fitting skirt.  After a little pattern hacking and taking it at the sides, I had a skirt pattern and got the exact look I hoped for.

The back is really the best part of the pattern, in my opinion.  It’s a little revealing, but not too much, like Goldilocks it’s juuuuust right.  I opted not to use the facing piece for the neckline (I never have luck with them staying put on knit bodices) and instead finished the edges with my serger, turned under, and stitched the edges down.  Since it’s such a loose fitting bodice, I wasn’t worried about the neckline stretching out of shape.

Speaking of the fit of the bodice, I went with my normal 10 and should have gone down at least one size.  I had to tack open the front of the bodice, otherwise it would have been “flash-city.  Going down a size would have made the back opening gape less as well, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The finishing touch was the sash!  It ties everything together, defines the waist and keeps the bodice looking blouse-y, and is fun to shake and shimmy with on the dance floor.

This dress was definitely a hurry-up-fast make, and not my best stitching by any means, but the fabric definitely makes the look and I loved wearing this to my friend’s wedding.  I can definitely see this being a great go-to dress next year for date nights, maybe my bachelorette weekend, and with a jacket or coverup it would take on a very different look.  As for actually making the jumpsuit from the pattern?  Maybe next year.