Sew It Seams: Simplicity 2923

Pattern Description: Misses Shirt-Dresses and Belt Project Runway Collection

For my dress I sewed the bodice with stand collar, puff sleeve with band, and slim skirt

Pattern Sizing: 6-24. I have no idea what size my dress ended up being. I cut a 16 in the hips and 14 bodice but took it in a lot all over.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? The jury is still out.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were easy to follow, I just had issues making alterations to fit my new figure. I had cut this out months ago after my fabric arrived- Remember this post?

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? First it was hard to know how much fabric to purchase since you can mix and match nearly every aspect of this dress to create a look for you. I purchased 3.5 yards and had over a yard left over. I am sure I can make something else with it but that was still annoying.
I liked the princess seams on the bodice and I originally liked the idea of having pockets on my shirt dress. In the end the pockets made me look extra wide which is never a good look. I disliked how difficult it was (for me anyway) to match up my bodice and skirt seams on the side being that they were different sizes.
Maybe I have a short neck but my stand collar just didn't seem to fit right on me. I honestly got frustrated with everything and was certainly not happy with how the finished product came out. Mostly because after all of the hard work, remeasuring, recutting, etc that it fits me like a sack. I added a belt which helps some but I noticed that in the back, my seam is lower and isn't covered by the belt. I am not sure how that happened.

Fabric Used:Chateau Cotton Poplin in Red purchased from fabric dot com.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened the bodice and skirt per my usual. I wish I hadn't shortened the skirt or at least known/thought to adjust the back split accordingly. Although the skirt hits me just below the knee, the split is higher than I feel is appropriate for work. I ended up with more gathers in various places in my attempt to give the dress some shape. I was having so many issues with the fit that I didn't dare attempt to make button holes so I just hand-stitched 5 snaps on the inside.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would not sew this again just because I didn't like the finished product or my difficulties with getting a good fit. From other reviews on PR others have had better results than I did. Personally I feel that while you can really make this dress your own, that there are just too many pieces to fit together for it to come out looking RTW. Part of the reason I started sewing was to give my wardrobe that custom fit and this as one of my few projects that was nowhere near that.

Conclusion: I am still wanting to make a shirtdress that is flattering for my figure and have decided to give McCall 5847 a try. It seems that the princess seams as well as cutting the bodice and skirt in one piece will produce better results for me. Of course I will post a review when I'm done. Perhaps someone with a bit more patience and creativity will or did have better results with this particular pattern than I did.