Kristen Adjusts The Verano

Instagram Handle: @dosoknits
Pattern: Verano by Christine Haynes
Size Made: 1X
Materials: Striped Rayon from Rimmon and Slub Chambray Indigo 
Modifications: Increased the bust dart to a larger size, raised the armhole by 1", added back darts, and lined the entire garment making it reversible.

When I first saw the Striped Rayon from Rimmon, I knew I wanted to make something with the fabric. I love a good stripe and the neutral colors together were something I was immediately drawn to. I am not going to lie, the fabric used on the pattern for the Verano Tank & Dress from Christine Haynes may have been the inspiration for me to make this dress!

Although I knew the Striped Rayon was going to be be gorgeous, it is quite sheer, and I wanted a functional dress, so I knew I would want to line it. I am still quite new to sewing, so the idea of lining a garment was extremely intimidating to consider attempting, especially if the pattern was not written with that in mind. However, I was up for learning a new skill, and decided to line the inside of my Verano with the Slub Chambray.

Now the real fun began!

Honestly, I think this project for me was a real test of the sewing skills that I have been building since starting at Fancy Tiger. I am really beginning to move in to sewing to fit by my body and adjusting as needed to make those adjustments.

There were many adjustments in this projects process:

Two muslins to change the bust dart to a larger size. One to practice, and the second because I realized I made the adjustments incorrectly the first time. I used the steps and detailed instructions in Ahead of the Curve, an extremely valuable resource!

I had to make a muslin to raise the armhole. Once I was happy with how the bust darts fit, I needed the armhole to be higher. The initial fit sat where the armhole would hit about halfway down the band of my bra, not the look I was going for. I raised the armhole by one inch, by making a lengthen/shorten line on the strap of the tank top, overlapping by one inch, and then using my Styling Design Ruler to redraw the curves. Honestly, this step took me a long time to conceptualize and figure out, however, this video from Seamwork made the whole process super easy!

The next adjustment I decided to make was to make the entire dress reversible. This came about because I wanted to line the dress, but honestly struggled to find instructions on how to actually go about that. Amidst my googling, I found this tutorial from StyleArc on how to sew a reversible bodice. I used these steps to sew my top half and found that I loved the look. Making the remaining portion of the dress reversible was super easy! I just attached the skirts of each color to their respective top pieces, following the Verano pieces, and Ta-Da, a reversible dress!

The last adjustment I made was to actually add some back darts. The initial fit of the dress was just a bit too wide for me and I needed a little more definition at my waist. To do this, I added a 3 inch wide and 7 inch tall dart equally spaced on the back pieces of each bodice piece and sewed the dart. (This did mean that the gathered skirts were removed, darts sewn, and then the skirts reattached). With the darts, the fit is so much better than I ever could have imagined!

Overall, I am super stoked to have this garment. The process of sewing this was absolutely the most rewarding part. If I hadn't made the adjustments I made, I would have ended with a gaping armhole, bra showing, and waist eliminating garment. I was able to take my time and make the adjustments I needed to make for my body, and now I have a garment I cannot wait to wear under sweaters this fall!