Tiramisu #2, the Amex Dress

I've finished my 2nd Tiramisu knit dress, and I'm calling it the Amex dress, not because it was super expensive, but because the fabric reminds me of the green American Express card, and I won't want to leave home without it.

But when it was initially finished, it should have stayed home. It didn't, and when I wore it the first time, I was actually pretty mortified that it looked as horrible as it did.

Exhibit A, Tiramisu 2.0:

It doesn't look that bad on the dress form, although you can see the incredibly drooping hem at center front (and yes, it does that at the center back as well). You also can't see well that I added an approximately 1-1/2" band at the hem because I wanted it a little longer, and that from the midriff on down, it hung like a sack.

The bodice is a smidge short, but I can live with that. The midriff was too short (something I did on purpose and totally regret) which drove me crazy in wearing. So... how to fix these issues when I only had a small pile of scraps left over.

Introducing the Tiramisu 2.1:

I happened to have scraps of a Michael Miller interlock knit from the same colorway used in another project. Let's go to the bullet points:

• I'm living with the too short bodice. Will print out the revised bodice pieces for my next version.
• Cut off the skirt at the seamline between skirt and bottom of midriff.
• Added a 2-1/2" wide strip of the "new" fabric to create a belt-like look to the bottom of the midriff. Used a 1/2" seam here.
• Took in the side seams beginning at the midriff. A bunch. Didn't take photos, but angled down from the midriff-bodice seamline toward the waist approximately 2". That adds up to 4" per side! Maybe a little more.
• Trying to preserve the pockets, I took extra width out of the center front and center back of the skirt, using a 2-1/2" seam allowance per seam.
• Reattached the skirt.
• The pockets looked terrible with the new, more snug fit. Sewed them shut, serged off the pocket bits.
• Put the dress on the dress form, measured up from the floor to get an even hem, and used my coverstitch to hem.

End result: it's not perfect, as I would have preferred a solid color, and a bit more length both to the bodice and overall, but it is now a dress I will definitely wear. My previous experience with this fabric is that it will continue to shrink, so it probably has a limited shelf life as it is anyway, so I'll just enjoy it while I can.

With a belt: