Acton Dress

I made an Acton dress! I’ve been eyeing this pattern up for a long time, and finally decided to go for it… with some lovely gray “luxe” linen and some super-fun Liberty I bought during our LA trip at The Fabric Store.

I rode my bike to the Phipps since it was so nice out (!!), but I think it made the dress extra rumpled for these photos, especially in the bust and waist.

I was pretty meticulous about lining up seams and making sure everything looked perfect, but was in a rush to finish sewing the straps, so I neglected to realize I did not line them up correctly. The top back also didn’t line up! Wow what a miss. It was surprisingly easy to perform surgery through the lining to fix it this morning, though.

… see? All better now.

The instructions for this pattern were GREAT!!! I loved the technique of sewing the lining to the center back seam, it was so easy and looks really professional. I usually hand-sew the lining at the zipper, but this looks better and is more sturdy. Speaking of the zipper…. my local fabric store didn’t have a grey zipper, so I went purple, and I really like it. It peeks out a tiny bit when I am wearing it, but its so fun! Overall, this is a great pattern… it is a tiny bit unflattering in the waist area, but I think I made it a skosh too tight. I made a bodice muslin in a straight size D, and then ended up taking in the side seams by 1″ on the final fabric’s side front and side back bodice (and as a result,I had to take in the skirt side seam 1″ in at the waist and grade out to the size D). Next time, I think I will take it in 1/2″ or so instead, so there’s more wiggle room.

Thanks to Claire and Kelsey for taking some impromptu photos at the Phipps yesterday!