Okay, so I did have an ulterior motive for making those last two ties. This is the dress version of Simplicity 2307, the same as the fish blouse I made a little while ago. Once I’d cut out the hem band, sleeve bands and neck facing I had plenty of fabric left over, so a couple of ties seemed like the way to go.
This dress isn’t supposed to fasten at the neck, but I find it a little low cut for my liking. I plan to add a hook and eye, or a little button and a thread loop, and I thought that a matching tie would be the perfect finishing touch.
Hopefully it will also help to disguise the fact that I just can’t seem to get the neck facing to sit nice and flat. I had the same problem on the fish blouse, but thought that it was to do with having too many layers of interfacing. I didn’t interface the neck facing this time, and the back piece just doesn’t want to stay put. I need to double check the pattern piece, because it seems as though there’s just too much fabric there.
I’m also a little bit uncertain about the proportions of this pattern. With the hem band it comes down to my knees, which is fine, but there’s something about the length of the dress or the depth of the band that just isn’t quite right. Maybe the band needs to be a little less deep. Maybe the dress needs to be a couple of inches shorter. Maybe the band stands out too much because of the contrasting fabric. I’m not sure.
I think I need to wear this one a couple of times, before I decide what alterations I need to make to the next version.
