The Zoe Dress

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With the help of my wonderful mother, the Zoe Dress is finished!  I was so excited about this one - such a lovely pattern from Sew Serendipity.

I would say just a couple of things.  First of all, if you're of above average size, this is not for you.  That is not a euphemism.  At a size 12, I wear the average size of a US woman, and I needed the XXL size for this pattern.  And she is not kidding when she says the pattern is designed for someone 5'4".  I added a full four inches to the skirt length.

The pattern is designed really well, with the exception that the sleeve did NOT fit as designed.  There is a very nice pleat in the pattern, but I had to take it out completely to get it to fit into the bodice.  The skirt pleats took a bit of adjustment (thanks mom!) but turned out very lovely. I did a lot of fussing with the layout while cutting to make sure the patterns matched up, which was challenging, as they are laid out on a slight bias, but I think it worked out well! 

I love all the options provided, and I think I will probably make more versions of this dress, probably with less of the embellishments.  I love the finished product, but a more streamlined version would work better for my office job.

Stand up straight!
 I used Little Black Dress by Moda fabrics. 

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