New Look 6183 and an Ignominious Sewing First

It all began when I downloaded the Burdavisor program which allows you to view the contents of Burda Style back issues including line drawings and magazine/mannequin photos.  It's pretty neat, and I have a tendency to get sucked in on rainy afternoons!  One day while browsing, I came across the plus section from May 2010 which gave us a glimpse into the life of a very glamorous and feminine Italian (I think) woman.  Well, glamorous as a housefrau who cleans and cooks and pleases her man in silky dresses can possibly be.

Liberated woman or not, her dresses are beautiful, and this one in particular struck me:

I couldn't find a copy anywhere, however, so I looked around for a similar dress and found New Look 6183.

Very similar, especially if that ruching at the front were gotten rid of.  Which is exactly what I did!

I think it came out really well!  I love the seaming on the skirt, which moves nicely as I walk.  I'm pleased with the way it fits as well, but I don't usually have many fitting challenges to begin with, so I just did the usual FBA and taking in at the waist.

The zipper looks like it sticks out at the back neckline, but it just wasn't zipped all the way up!

I did make some slight modifications to the pattern, but nothing major.  I lengthened the bodice pieces about two inches and moved the gathers a little closer to the center, where most of my fullness is located.  I also cut a 14 in the bodice, graded into a 10 at the waist, then out to a 16 at the hips.  It worked pretty well, I think.

The sleeves I cut without modification, but after hemming them, I gathered the lower 6 inches tightly and sewed little green buttons on top!  I added a self-bow out of a small tube of fabric at the center of the V-neck, but it gets a little lost in the print in these photos.  I think in the one below, it's a little clearer.  Also clear is the pretty great fit!

The fabric, once again, is from DenverFabrics.  It may be found right here.  It's a lightweight polyester crepe, but I really lucked out because it's not static-y or sweaty feeling like a lot of polyesters.  It has a really nice, almost dry feel to it, and a subtle sheen.  

And of course, my sewing first:  I accidentally melted a little of this fabric!  It was the very bottom of the center front seam, and just the edge.  I forgot to turn my iron down from my last project (which I haven't shared yet), and felt so dumb!  Luckily, it was all hidden away in the seam allowance!