N.C.M #16 and #17 - Ruffly Teal Shirt and Dressform

#16 - Ruffly Teal Shirt

I really love Modcloth.com. They have some of the cutest clothing I've seen in a long time. But unfortunately for me, they don't sell their stuff in plus sizes. :( Which was heartbreaking for me when I found this amazing ruffly teal dress. But then I remembered that I bought some material on clearance that was almost identical in color! I didn't have enough to make a dress, but I did have enough to make a shirt. This was probably a good thing for me because I don't wear dresses too often.

My Version

The Original

Instead of chiffon, I used a jersey knit fabric. For the bodice, I used Butterick pattern 5454 and made the pattern for the ruffles and the bottom myself. I did put the bow on it, but I liked it better tied in the back instead of the front.

I'm actually rather pleased with how this turned out. I normally wear things where the seam is directly under my bust or without a seam, so this style was a bit weird for me. But I had several positive responses on Craftster so I may have to re-evaluate my stance on that. And my husband things I look sexy in it too. Seriously folks, the hubby stole the laptop and wrote that. Now I just have to wait for the 5 inches of snow to melt so I can wear it.

#17 - Dressform

This is something that my dear friend Hilary helped me make. Well, technically, she made it. When I started making my own clothes it was becoming slightly difficult because I was constantly trying things on to get the right fit. I wanted to buy a dressform, but at $200+ it was slightly out of my price range. That's when I found a tutorial on how to make my own dressform using duct tape! The result...

It was rather simple. Hilary just wrapped me in several layers of duct tape then cut it down the spine and I taped it back up. It took her about two and a half hours to wrap me and another two hours for me to stuff it with newspaper. Unfortunately the duct tape method is not the best to use because when stuffing, it pushes the proportions off. So certain areas I can use to help fit (shoulders and bust) but others are actually bigger then I am (waist and stomach). After I lose some weight, I want to try another method using packing tape, where it will actually be solid with much more accurate proportions. You can see the tutorial I want to use here and you can bet I'll let you know if it works or not. :)