When Patterns Lie

DD's Easter Outfit is done to the hand sewing on the jacket, but it was a trial.

The pattern back states that it is for woven fabrics; however, I beg to differ.
It turns out the following mini-rant may be premature; see the update at the end...
There is no zipper, button, snap, anything in this dress to provide an entry. DD's bust and waist measurements were *lower* than the size 8, which is the smallest on the pattern. I decided to make her an 8 anyway (she needed a 14 in length), figuring it would give her some room to grow. I made the bodice and the skirt separately, as instructed by the pattern, and was alarmed as I saw how truly smallish the skirt looked. I called DD in and had her try the pieces on separately...she could *just* wriggle into the bodice, but she couldn't get the skirt over both shoulders.

This was a wadder in progress.

I dug through my zippers and found a 9" cream invisible zipper. Not exactly what the dr ordered, but it'd do. I opened the left seams on the bodice and the skirt about 5" each before I sewed the bodice to the skirt so I could stick the zipper in the sideseam. The bodice wasn't too bad; I'd serged the seam edges and stitched the seam conventionally, so I could press it open and reduce the bulk at the armsceye binding, but the skirt I'd serged...so I had only 1/4" seam allowance to work with.

All I can say is, thank God for Wonder Tape.

It's not the best and neatest zipper application in the world, but it worked. DD can get into the dress and, surprise surprise, her reaction was "I LOVE this dress!!!".

So I guess it was worth the hair tearing moments. She hasn't seen the jacket yet.

I've got some very interesting comments to make when I get around to reviewing it, you bet!


*Update after the Photos*

Is this an egg-on-face moment or what?

I finished the hand sewing on the jacket and sent DD off to try on the whole ensemble. When she came out, dressed, she complained,
"Mom! You sewed up the zipper!"

Um, I most certainly did not. I demonstrated to her that it zipped and unzipped just fine. Apparently she'd had some problems.

Wait. Did you mean to say you got into that dress without unzipping it?

*sheepish look on her face* Um, yes.

Did you have to wiggle and work to get into it?

Now she laughs. "No! I didn't! It was fine!"

Could someone please direct me to a brick wall...I think I'd like to bang my head on it for a little while...
But here's the photo of the finished product. And yes, she will wear a slip under it. If I'd've had time, I'd've underlined it....