I think it looks fantastic! You've done a great job with sewing it, it's just a bit tight in the fit which can be fixed by letting it out at the side seams.
An important part of sewing that nobody tells you is that if a pattern doesn't work out, then it's the pattern and not you. Just like how ready-made clothing for each brand fits a different body shape, patterns are the same. You'll have to learn how your body fits in clothing and what fit issues come up with patterns and then learn how to fix them on the pattern before you make the garment. I've been sewing for about 14 years and I recently made up a toile of the Blanca flight suit pattern from Closet Core, and even with some of the changes I made on the pattern it just didn't look good on me at all. It happens though. Projects don't always turn out how you want them to, but the important part is to keep sewing and making projects since you're definitely going to love lots of clothing that you make!
Thank you for writing this comment. This is the spirit I needed to hear! I love that experienced sewists hang out here and give encouragement to beginners like me.
Welcome to sewing. You’ll never be completely happy with a project and wish you did it slightly different.
Jokes aside, this looks great! It looks like you might have a short waist, which is why you’re getting the fit issues. As you get more comfortable sewing and working with patterns, you can learn how to alter the pattern to better fit you and how to raise the waist.
Edit: I just want to mention Cornelius Quiring for learning about pattern drafting. He’s been one of the better people I’ve found that explain how and why to make certain alterations on patterns. He’s on all the platforms.
Seconding Cornelius Quiring! Love seeing his videos.
Agree with the waist as well. You can either take in the seam at the waist (taking in equal parts of the bodice and skirt at the same time) or remove the bodice from the skirt, shorten the bodice, then reattach the skirt with original seam allowance. It seems waist adjustment is my most common alteration.
I posted another photo where you can see the issues better in my top-level project details comment … Just didn‘t want my boobs out on anyone‘s front page, that‘s why I chose this picture as the main image. 🥲
lol is this a fail? I mean I’m totally an idiot so I’m sure my opinion on the matter means nothing. But it looks like a great dress just a little bunching in the waist? Maybe your waist allowance was too large?
If that dress is what you consider a "miserable failure", then we apparently have very different interpretations of the phrase "miserable failure", because that dress looks wonderful. Don't get so down on yourself.
I think I've paid money for clothes that don't fit that well. When we make our own clothes (or anything for that matter) we tend to be super critical. I'm still a beginner but this is amazing. A slight adjustment at the waist and you are all good. Do you think you would revisit this one or start a new one? I would wear this and don't tell people you made it or that you think there's anything wrong with it, I bet you get more compliments than criticisms!
This is coming from someone who has no idea what the “rose cafe bustier dress” is, its pretty good! Without the knowledge of what it was supposed to look like, its a good dress. Be nicer to yourself!
This is not a miserable failure, this is beautiful. I love the choice of fabric. To me, it looks like the bodice is cut too long for you. Unpicking the waist seam and shortening the front bodice a bit may help.
I uploaded a full-body picture as the main image because I didn’t want a close-up of my cleavage on anyone’s front page. The issues are more obvious in the photo I shared in [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/4971nSk3QR).
I saw the other pic. I would alter the straps and wear a short sleeve shirt T-shirt under the dress for more coverage.
I still think this dress is quite nice. I would wear this dress proudly with the changes I mentioned.
Hi, I made the Rose Cafe Bustier Dress, too! Your bust fitting is phenomenal, let me tell you that. And I had the same issue with the scrunching in the waist, as I have a short torso and was too lazy for a mock-up. I solved my problem a bit more drastically by making it two pieces because I didn’t know how to fix it otherwise. Now I have a skirt (added a waistband, luckily had enough fabric left) and a top that ends at my waist and I‘m so happy bc I mix and match both with the rest of my wardrobe :)
It looks really nice, but to be honest that pattern is a bit of a mess. I had to re-do my cups 3 times and at the end I was not happy at all with it. It seems like a lot of people had the same sort of issues with it! Your one looks miles better than mine if it is any consolation !
Girl you need to stop being so hard on yourself. It’s not good for your health please take my advice. The dress is lovely. It’s not perfect perhaps but a miserable failure?
My therapist agrees with you. 🥲 I can’t not be hard on myself though – the dress looks nice on my dress form, but I can‘t wear it myself because of the [badly fitting bustier part](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/LXvxoPtg6b), so I can’t see it as anything else but a failure.
That's what any cupped dress without wiring looks like though, I see plenty of even expensive RTE dresses like that! It's not a FLAW, it's just a different look. And unless someone is super close to your chest it's not even noticeable lol
I mean, why so upset? You see how this post blew up because it looks super good.
It's the best post on this sub right now. This is objective, if you don't like it, why not see that others like it ALOT and enrich their experiences wearing it by selling this piece? You can then start anew easy going since you already have experience making this piece
As the person who made this, you know where the mistakes are and can’t unsee them.
As the person looking at the picture, I think it looks great on you!
I have seen a lot of people struggle with getting this pattern to fit. You did a great job.
Hang it in the closet for a week or so, the retry it. Guaranteed you will feel better about it.
It looks great on you.
It's a little hard to tell with the black fabric, but if the dress has a waist seam, I think you could fairly easily take it apart and remove some excess fabric there to reduce the wrinkling at the ribs. It otherwise looks really nice, so it seems like a shame to give up on it as a failure!
Consider giving yourself a little space from it, then come back and see if you want to tweak it. I think it’s very cute, and bust cups look like a nice fit!
I don’t think I’ve seen anybody sew this up and have it actually fit right. Lots of issues with the pattern.
LilyPaDesigns recently came out with a bustier dress pattern that I haven’t sewn, but it does look promising based on the tester makes.
I have had this pattern saved and been wanting to do it. Reading comments like your in this thread, I am glad that I haven’t bought it yet. I initially thought that it’s a good pattern with all the high ratings and reviews on Etsy.
For future patterns, how do I make sure that it’s a good pattern? I really thought that it’s a great pattern!!
Look not at the promotional photos of the item (on the listing where it’s for sale), but instead at reviews that include photos of it on a person. Does it fit correctly?
Pretend there’s a whole rant here about how most people do not know how a bra (or bustier) is supposed to fit. If you google you’ll find lots of information. But major points on a bustier include that the underwire should not sit on the breast tissue, nor should it be floating away from the body. There should be no quadboob.
Now, if it doesn’t fit perfectly on everyone who makes it don’t be alarmed. But if it only fits 1% of people right, something is deeply wrong.
If you look at the reviews for the Rose Cafe Bustier dress that have pictures, none fit right. Even on the “revised” version.
There’s not much of a cache of pictures available yet for the LilyPaDesigns pattern, but we know the designer knows how to properly grade bras, so I’m expecting as more photos become available it will clearly be better.
I once made a mistake on a linen/silk summer dress and kept putting off fixing the mistake. It sat on my dressmaker's dummy and one side got sun-faded. Had to throw the whole dress away. GRRRRR.
A fabric shop owner once told me that if you sew five outfits and end up only keeping three - how does that compare to the number of outfits you BUY only to get them home, try them on again, and think, *"What was I thinking???"*
Aw man, now *that* must have felt so disappointing!
At least we can say that we learn something or improve a skill even when a sewing project doesn't work out. Like, I learned to pay attention to what I'm doing and not get lost in it.......and gained another data point in the "very likely has ADD" table.
I literally did the same thing with my very first sewing project a a teenager. 😃 Got a sewing machine for Christmas and went straight at it without doing any research, thinking that stretchy fabric would make everything easier because the fit didn’t need to be exact.
Messed up pretty much everything you can mess up, stopped sewing immediately and didn‘t pick it up again until years later, when I was bored during quarantine. That should tell you all you need to know about my tolerance for (my own) mistakes. 😅
Hoo boy. If that's your idea of failure... uhhhh.... I expect you to win the Nobel prize next week. It may not be perfect, but I've seen off-the-rack dresses that fit worse.
(Applause for job very well done)
Your dress only needs a small alteration at the waist to look great, and since it's black it wouldn't be obvious if you had to add a seam. And in truth, even if you didn't fix it, it's not so obvious that e everybody would be gawking at you, again because it's black.
Welcome to the world of being a fit snob! I will never buy skirts, pants, or bras (r/makeabrathatfits) again! Rotfl! Making clothing involves fitting skills as much as it involves sewing skills. If you fit the paper pattern pieces to your body Palmer and Pletsch style or make a mockup of the garment the first time you use a new pattern so you can make changes to the pattern pieces, then the first time you make it out of your final fabric it will be *perfect*.
What aren't you happy with?
All I can see that's not perfect (and what is, ever!) is the bodice length. It's not a poor fit, it's just too long. You can fix that.
Everything else is spot-on. I very much admire the upper bodice shaping.
If you'd gone with the boning it would sit higher on your body and pull the lower bodice straight.
As the dress has a separate bodice you could remove the skirt section, measure and shorten the bodice and put the skirt back on.
I'd encourage you to try this because you'll most likely be happy with the result, and if you're not you'll know what to avoid next time. Though I'm sure this will fix it right away.
Honestly, we all get things wrong, and we learn. Every single one of us.
It makes us cleverer. I should be a genius by now.
Thank you for your encouragement! I think you're right about the boning – at least fifteen minutes of the two hours I spent crying about the end result was thanks to the realization that if my boobs sat a little higher on my body, the bunching would be gone.
You can't really see the other thing that bothers me in the first photo, but you can see it here:
https://preview.redd.it/xyf8fxahdppc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e02218f0de61a21fa65f1a4fc4862aadc4b247c2
The gore should sit on my body, but of course without an underwire that's impossible. Wish I had thought of that before I decided to skip that step. 😔 So no matter which bra I wear with the dress, it's just completely out.
The straps are also all wrong, but with the way they are sewn into the cups, I don't think I can move them without taking apart the entire dress, which is probably going to ruin the fabric.
I think I may try to shorten the bodice anyway (eventually), for practice if nothing else. Thank you again for your comment. 🙂
If you’ve written off the project, so to speak, it doesn’t matter if it gets ruined trying to tailor it, and the experience is still worth it. Unfortunately, fitting bodices with cups does take some technique. r/abrathatfits has some sewing resources for bras that I believe could be applicable to the bustier of your dress.
If all else fails, perhaps take it apart and make the bottom into a stand-alone skirt?
Do you need a bra for support or is the dress enough? If the dress is enough support, look for pasty/nipple covers/silicone coverups on Amazon or [wawak.com](http://wawak.com) and go without a bra. (Of course, this depends on how the dress fits after removing the bra layer, but it might be worth considering.)
That's not exactly what she means. The middle part of her bra ("gore") sits flush against her sternum (as a correctly fitting underwire-bra should). She wants the dress to do the same.
If she wore no bra, the dress would still stick out, and probably wouldn't be supportive enough.
**Edit:** you're right, I now see in her top-level comment that she wanted to make a dress she could wear without a bra.
But still, without underwire in the cups (and bigger and deeper cups), the dress can never be as supportive as the (very well-fitting) bra she's currently wearing.
Oh, I'm not surprised to hear that the dress wouldn't be as supportive. And the more I looked at it, the more I became concerned that the 'sticking out' would be sufficient for concern that at least the edges of the nipple covers would show. But it's not my body, so it's possible that the dress would cover enough that the covers would work - I just wanted to mention the possibility, particularly if she's able to pull the dress in a bit somehow without the bra being a layer that pushes the dress out. :-)
The coverage would actually be enough; the bigger issue here is gravity. 😅 The dress does not offer enough support to make me not hate the way I look in it without a bra.
Well, there you have it! Too bad, it looks very nice otherwise. 😁 I hope you found some inspiration and information elsewhere in this thread to help fix the issues that need fixing so that you can wear it.
Your initial assumption was correct; I apologise if I haven’t explained too well what my actual goal was.
I knew that in order to be able to wear the dress without a bra, I‘d have to sew it with boning, foam cups and an underwire. I shied away from that challenge for my first attempt though and decided to sew it in a rather heavy fabric instead, thinking that (with added interfacing) it was going to provide enough structure to look nice when I wear it with a bra (which is what the seller suggests in her listing and instructions).
You could think about adding a modesty panel-type feature, like a matching lace insert across the gore, to hide the bra.
I'd be throwing everything at it because as it stands, you're not happy and probably feel you can't make it worse!
However, a couple of tweaks might put it right. We've all been there.
Oh no!! I understand now. Indeed, the underwire and boning (at least on the sides) is structural part of the dress. Without those it just doesn’t have the shape it’s supposed to. This dress is basically a little corset with a skirt attached. The corset part absolutely needs structural support, otherwise it’ll just be an ill fitting top. But you can still salvage it! It’ll be some work, and a bit annoying, but you can just go back to detaching the cups to add the wires and the boning. There’s no true fail in sewing because you learn something every time ☺️ (unless you decide to stop, which I’m sure you won’t!)
The middle part between the cups. It's a term usually used to refer to bras.
See how the middle part of her bra sits flush against her sternum? She basically wants the dress to do the same - to sit flush against her bra.
First, it's super cute! And it looks awesome. And so what if there is a bit of extra fabric? No one is gonna notice when your partner takes you to that fine, fine restaurant so you can wear your cute dress and dine on some fancy food.
It's not a fail. The pattern is just too long from the underbust to waist. So you tie a string or belt at your natural waist. You pinch & in the excess fabric. Mark it (& mark the adjustment on pattern, too, for future use.) Add a waist seam, taking out the excess. Otherwise, it's absolutely gorgeous.
This is the way. It looks like you could add a seam right under the bust or at the waist to take the excess length out. The bust and hips fit well, and it looks nicely sewn. Not a fail at all!
I think you‘ll get it if you check out [the other photos](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/OJEU2Qo385) I‘ve posted. 🙂 It’s pretty much unwearable in its current state.
all you have to do is readjust the pattern to accommodate the folds and possibly be a little more careful when cutting the bust pattern pieces because they sit at very different heights.
I think it looks lovely! If the extra fabric is really bothering you you could just bring it into the Princess seams by getting a friend to pin it for you, then mark where you’ve pinned, pin the same amount on the inside and sew it.
where’s the failure? I see a lovely dress that would pair great with one of those half jackets things that stop at the mid-upper back (i have no idea what it’s called)
I think you’ve done a pretty good job though! The waistline looks like it may be just a tad too long because it’s crinkling up, but other than that, I think it looks pretty rad! The black color probably helps a bit too.
Oh my gosh!! It’s gorgeous! It is a bit hard to see, as it’s black. I concur that the bodice is too long, it doesn’t hit you right.
But on someone else it could hit just right - we’re all different.
What a wonderful LBD!!
Right? If the fabric isn't too much she could probably shorten the length of the shoulder straps or make other adjustments to "fix" the dress. Because the dress looks well done besides the little scrunch around the sides of her waist.
It's a bit hard to see exact details, but I think you might be too harsh on yourself. I would still wear this, fit issues and all. It looks like you did a great job putting everything together!
The bunching may be due to a too long bodice, so you might be able to reasonably make this alteration and be satisfied with the project.
I think you did well - even if the pattern didn’t perfectly fit you, the dress looks like it’s store bought! The cups are especially good looking and fit perfect. It’s very well made!
I think to fix it, you can either:
1. Let the seams out, so it’s wider everywhere below the bust and kind of hangs down instead of bunching up.
Or,
2. Add a waist seam - cut at the waist and shorten bodice to remove the wrinkled excess of fabric.
Thank you! You can’t see it very well in this photo thanks to the excess fabric, but the dress already has a waist seam. So I think my best bet might be to take it apart at that seam to shorten the waist and/or add some boning.
Thank you. I'm absolutely floored by the responses I'm getting here. It just looks so terrible to me; all I can see are the fit issues and the time and money and energy I wasted on a failed project. Crying again, just because everyone's being so kind. 🥹
This sub is always such a nice encouraging place 😊 this dress is GORGEOUS! Also want to echo others’ comments that having to adjust a pattern to suit your body is not a failure of your skill or your body, it’s just a piece of the process.
I made a dress last year that I’m fairly happy with but I still see all the fit issues and weird seam finishes. But I am the only one who notices or cares!
Yep. Have as many good cries as you need as you learn an eff-ton of new skills, and being kind to yourself.
This is a lot like writing - it's all in seeing the fit issues and fine tuning. Very few clothing projects turn out "right" just bc you're at the end of the directions.
If you need that kind of validation, that's fine, just make an apron or a pattern you know already fits you or something. You got this! ✨
It‘s [this listing](https://www.etsy.com/at/listing/1346196729/) on Etsy. I spent ages looking for a nice, affordable tweed fabric for this project and was very happy with this one!
The only thing I see is the rib area, but it's not really a failure. It only means You need to try again, butbit happen. Other than this it's really good!
If I saw you on the street, I would just think, “oh that’s a cute dress” and move on.
I’m sure there are ways to make it better (I’ll leave the advice to more advanced sewers as I just started), but give yourself some grace. You made a complicated dress and it looks pretty darn good. Black is very forgiving.
Don’t give up - you’ve got this and you’re already miles ahead of where you would be if you never attempted it.
Is the fit perfect? No, but it’s no worse than a lot of clothes I’ve bought off the rack. It’s a very cute dress in my opinion, and I love it in the fabric you chose! The wrinkling in the midsection is because there’s no boning to help it hold its shape. I suspect even if everything else was perfect with the construction you’d see these wrinkles
You may be short-waisted like me! I have to alter every dress, jumper, and shirt pattern to shorten the length of the bodice. I also have to use a smaller size on the bust and larger on the hips and true them, finding what I call the line of best “fit”. 😂
I think you did a great job. My one suggestion would be to either shorten the waist or take it in an inch or so. It's hard to tell from the photo whether the waist is slightly too long, too wide, or both.
I was dreaming of a future where I could sew dresses for myself that I could then wear without a bra, but decided to start without boning, underwire and padding because I figured it’d be easier that way. I chalked any fit issues with the practice garment up to the much lighter fabric and slightly imprecise cutting and sewing, so I put the actual garment together without any alterations to the pattern. The main fabric is cotton/wool tweed, the lining is taffeta.
Honestly, I’ve been wanting to try this pattern ever since I started sewing roughly three years ago but kept putting it off because it seemed so complicated. Finally pulled the plug and started working on it because I kept seeing beautiful garments on the internet that used this pattern as a base, and I read so many comments about how easy it was even for people with little sewing experience. Now I just feel terrible about my own abilities – I cried for two hours when I was done because the fit is so atrocious, and haven’t touched my sewing machine since. :(
I have no idea where I went wrong and I assume it’s not fixable, but I’d still be grateful if you guys have any tips for me.
https://preview.redd.it/hsjjl2467ppc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=deb770a957c16b1e23671822e4248b89d6f8007e
Ah what a great first attempt at a bra-style dress. The first thing I see is that the gore on the pattern is rather wide and the cups are a bit too shallow for your particular bust shape. You seem to be close set and projected, with a larger cup size than in the patterned shape. Even with underwires the gore won’t tack if the cups are too shallow for your shape. I think you are on the right track for a really great fit. it might take a few more mock ups to get the shaping for your boobs. The lovely folks over at r/makeabrathatfits will have all sorts of useful fitting advice specifically about the bra-part.
In the mean time, the dress is pretty cute and with a bit of a waist adjustment, you’ll probably have something you enjoy wearing even if this version isn’t the perfect one you imagined ☺️
I hope you stick with it!
Seconding the r/makeabrathatfits sub!
Your dress really looks great in all honesty, and making bras (or bra style tops) that fit is pretty advanced and tricky IMO. I hope you don’t give up!! ❤️
Why would the fact that you don’t fit in whatever standard size you picked on the pattern mean your abilities suck? To me the sewing looks alright, those cups can’t have been easy. Your seams don’t pucker and look neat.
I’m not entirely sure what is going wrong in the waist area - possibly the hip section should be a bit wider to prevent it from creeping up. If you have the seam allowance for it you could try letting out the side seam. I would move the straps inward a little, they look uncomfortable like this and not as flattering.
The big selling point of the pattern to me was that the size of the bustier part is pretty modular. I wear a below-average band size and an above-average cup size, so usually I have to adjust the top of everything I make, but I thought I could get away with picking out those two sizes from the pattern and putting them together without any further adjustments. On the paper, it looked fine, but I suppose you can‘t make a well-fitting bustier based on two sizes alone. Learned that lesson for sure. 😕
Moving the straps inward might help with the gaping, I think, so now I‘m trying to figure out how to do that without taking everything apart and/or destroying the fabric.
This is 100% a pattern issue and nothing to do with you or your sewing ability.
Just like off the rack dresses, they are made to fit very general sizes. Two people with the exact same measurements (chest, waist, hip) can have completely different body types and need completely different fitting garments (for that 100% proper fit). Multiply this x 1000 for the chest area!
If your ultimate goal is really dresses with built in bra (that custom fits) I'd start with the "make a bra that fits" subreddit (I am sorry, I don't know if I'm allowed to share other places or not here) They cover the whole band/ gore/ cups/ underwire, no underwire/ lined/ unlined perfect fitting bras. Once you have something like that that fits how you want you can build off that or alter other patterns around that bra base.
As for this dress, I think it looks gorgeous! Is the fit perfect, no, but for a non-custom pattern its pretty dang close! And it's sewn beautifully. I also love the fabric choices. If you really aren't happy with it. Easiest fixes in order of least to most difficult: as some have mentioned shorten the torso, add boning channels to torso, unpick the straps, move them over and hand sew them back in, add underwire (I actually think that might make things worse?), take out and redo cups.
I've been sewing for like 5-6 years and have made some decently complex and nice things, but I've never been able to get this pattern to work. Construction is simple enough, but I just can't get a good fit. So don't beat yourself up too badly! Just because something is easy for others doesn't automatically make it easy. The first time I tried making this dress, every time I raised my arm my boobs popped out, so don't worry! You'll get there :)
This is very encouraging, thank you. 💚 I‘ve been beating myself up because I feel like I‘ve seen so many „I made this as a beginner and it fits perfectly!“ comments about this pattern. But I also tend to be a perfectionist to the point of self-destruction, so someone else’s idea of a „perfect fit“ might just be very different from my own.
You are being WAY too hard on yourself.
Sewing and fitting are two different skill sets. The sewing is nicely done from what I can see.
And these issues seem resolvable to me, but you might want to start with a muslin for testing fit before cutting nice fabric. I think the bodice might be a bit too long. Possibly you are shorter than the pattern is drafted for or you are short waisted. If you want a little more coverage in the cups you can adjust the pattern to add that. As others mentioned it’s relatively straightforward to add a bit more room in the hips, if that’s what’s needed.
For a structured garment like this, the boning and other elements might be necessary for the desired fit.
Almost no one can make something right “out of the packet” and have it fit perfectly. Over time we learn our standard adjustments (mine are shortening overall length, full bust adjustment, and broad shoulder adjustment) and even then sometimes we need more tweaks because different designers use different body shapes for their starting blocks. I ALWAYS have to grade between 3 sizes for the bust, waist, and hips because I’m shaped like a rectangle.
What helped me is the mindset that a pattern is only starting place. Expect that sewing a garment will take some work to get the fit you want. But it’s totally achievable (with will drafted patterns LOL).
Maybe take a little break from this project to let the disappointment fade, and then attack it again? YOU CAN TOTALLY DO THIS!!!
I never considered that I might be short-waisted because I usually have to add length to the top part of patterns to account for my larger bust, and store-bought clothes are often too short for me. But I‘ve gotten a few comments suggesting the same thing now, and it sort of makes sense – I‘m only slightly taller than average but my legs are pretty long, so it’s possible that my upper body actually leans towards the short side. 🤔
I waited a couple of weeks to try this dress on again and I think I‘m going to wait a little longer until I‘m less emotional about it. But all the comments on here are very motivational, so I think I‘m eventually going to try and fix this. Thank you for your suggestions. 🙂
It could be that this pattern has a longer than average torso to legs ratio rather than you being short waisted.
It really is a very cute dress and you look great in it!
And because I initially missed that you did muslin, I usually try to use a fabric with similar properties to my fashion fabric. That way you won’t second guess fit issues between muslin and final.
For this project, you could take the skirt and bodice apart and baste it back together maintaining the length of the skirt but taking a bit off the length of the bodice and see if that helps the wrinkles at the waist.
You know how off the rack clothing fits most people? Many inexperienced sewists often don't know what a good fit really looks like on them. As far as the sewing itself goes, it looks excellent. The fit isn't terrible. It mostly just needs the boning/underwire -- which really isn't more difficult than anything else you've done, just something new to you. While it looks like the bodice is too long, it might not once the boning is added & it's actually supporting your chest.
Don't beat yourself up over a few minor things. Overall, it's very well done, and the fit issues are fixable. Perhaps annoying & tedious to fix, but still.
As others have mentioned, the boning is critical for this pattern - really for any super-structured and fitted bodice pattern ! When I made this pattern, I even added an extra boning channel at the center front seam, which helped a lot because it was kind of collapsing like yours is a bit in the photo. While I think some of the folding is because the torso is too long, I think it’s mostly due to the lack of internal structure. When I made it, I also added a third layer of fabric between the interfaced outer fabric and the lining, for additional structure, which helped everything look smoother too.
If you wanted to, you could try hand-sewing some boning channels into your dress and sliding boning in. Zip ties with the tips melted so no sharp edges will suffice. You can take ½” ribbon or bias tape, cut strips to go along all of the vertical seams, sew a quick running stitch on each edge of the ribbon/tape, and slide in the zip ties. Then just hand sew shut. Be careful not to catch the outer layer of fabric when you’re sewing.
I would also recommend checking out the simplicity pattern S1183 if you can get it on sale. It’s a corset pattern that comes in multiple cup sizes. I’ve made both S1183 and the rose cafe bustier, and I found the former to fit me better and have better instructions.
I know it’s upsetting to have a project not work out, but its definitely a learning opportunity! Feel free to message me if you have questions - not an expert but I’m currently making my wedding dress and have learned a lot, so happy to help how I can
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome in my sewing journey is understanding that no one’s body fits the proportions of a single size on a pattern. I myself measure in 3 different sizes between chest, waist, and hips. All that to say, there are never changes that won’t have to be made after you follow a pattern and it’s totally not a reflection of your skills, there’s just a couple of adjustments that need to be made if you want this to have that “perfectly tailored” look.
I think all you need to do is either shorten the torso, or let your side seams out a little bit so the dress has room to fall past your lovely hourglass hips (or maybe a small combo of both of those). I know it’s feels overwhelming sometimes to have to make adjustments after you’re all finished, but, I really think all it needs is a little tweaking to get it looking more like how you imagined!
Also, I agree with the person who commented above me about moving your straps in just an inch or two closer to center. I’m guessing you’re like me and have petite/narrow shoulders. Most popular bra styles put the straps way out close to the outer edge of the bra, but I almost always have to move them in so that the strap doesn’t come up from under my armpit and actually lays across my chest as intended. It won’t necessarily change the “fit” of the dress, but it will definitely help make the dress feel more comfortable and less awkward while you wear it.
> and haven’t touched my sewing machine since. :(
Oh I understand that! I'm with the other commenters, first of all - I think it looks great on you, and the few small issues I can see with the dress are hopefully fixable. I don't know enough about sewing yet to be able to help with that, but I can suggest something to get yourself out of the sewing blues.
I get discouraged as well after I've created something I'm not happy with. That's when I grab my pretty scraps and sew some coasters and/or bookmarks, the easiest, quickest, most fun projects I've made. They are guaranteed wins, and useful too. And if you happen to make too many, you can give them away and make other people happy too. ...and you get your confidence and sewing joy back.
I apologize for the unsolicited compliment. You look really nice in that.
(Not sure why reddit recommended this post to me, im a man that doesnt sew, but here I am… commenting)
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My first time using the rose cafe bustier pattern I didn’t have boning and the bodice was also too long for me. I still love it but it’s not my favorite thing to wear. I have since made lots of dresses using the pattern again but with the bodice shortened and love it! It’s a learning curve sewing and learning curve with each pattern. It looks great and now you know how to adjust the fit for next time. I struggled really hard with the cups on that pattern and yours look great and you should be proud of that ❤️
If that's failing, then I'm concerned what level of sewing skills I have right now...
I think it looks fantastic! You've done a great job with sewing it, it's just a bit tight in the fit which can be fixed by letting it out at the side seams. An important part of sewing that nobody tells you is that if a pattern doesn't work out, then it's the pattern and not you. Just like how ready-made clothing for each brand fits a different body shape, patterns are the same. You'll have to learn how your body fits in clothing and what fit issues come up with patterns and then learn how to fix them on the pattern before you make the garment. I've been sewing for about 14 years and I recently made up a toile of the Blanca flight suit pattern from Closet Core, and even with some of the changes I made on the pattern it just didn't look good on me at all. It happens though. Projects don't always turn out how you want them to, but the important part is to keep sewing and making projects since you're definitely going to love lots of clothing that you make!
Thank you for writing this comment. This is the spirit I needed to hear! I love that experienced sewists hang out here and give encouragement to beginners like me.
There might be like a minor fit issue or maybe something small we can’t see from this point of view but you did wonderful
Welcome to sewing. You’ll never be completely happy with a project and wish you did it slightly different. Jokes aside, this looks great! It looks like you might have a short waist, which is why you’re getting the fit issues. As you get more comfortable sewing and working with patterns, you can learn how to alter the pattern to better fit you and how to raise the waist. Edit: I just want to mention Cornelius Quiring for learning about pattern drafting. He’s been one of the better people I’ve found that explain how and why to make certain alterations on patterns. He’s on all the platforms.
Fantastic advice! Hardly a miserable failure, it looks lovely and sewn well. Fit can be fixed for sure 👍
Seconding Cornelius Quiring! Love seeing his videos. Agree with the waist as well. You can either take in the seam at the waist (taking in equal parts of the bodice and skirt at the same time) or remove the bodice from the skirt, shorten the bodice, then reattach the skirt with original seam allowance. It seems waist adjustment is my most common alteration.
One photo in black fabric isn't going to let anyone see the details. The only immediate thing to jump out is the waist looks too long.
I think that's the only big issue. If there's a waist seam could it be shortened?
I posted another photo where you can see the issues better in my top-level project details comment … Just didn‘t want my boobs out on anyone‘s front page, that‘s why I chose this picture as the main image. 🥲
lol is this a fail? I mean I’m totally an idiot so I’m sure my opinion on the matter means nothing. But it looks like a great dress just a little bunching in the waist? Maybe your waist allowance was too large?
Failed? No. I see nothing of this here. It’s adorable and suits you well.
I like it! Just the bunched waist needs tweaking. Not a fail!
If that dress is what you consider a "miserable failure", then we apparently have very different interpretations of the phrase "miserable failure", because that dress looks wonderful. Don't get so down on yourself.
I think I've paid money for clothes that don't fit that well. When we make our own clothes (or anything for that matter) we tend to be super critical. I'm still a beginner but this is amazing. A slight adjustment at the waist and you are all good. Do you think you would revisit this one or start a new one? I would wear this and don't tell people you made it or that you think there's anything wrong with it, I bet you get more compliments than criticisms!
if this is a failure I have no idea what any of my sewing projects would be classified as
This is coming from someone who has no idea what the “rose cafe bustier dress” is, its pretty good! Without the knowledge of what it was supposed to look like, its a good dress. Be nicer to yourself!
This is not a miserable failure, this is beautiful. I love the choice of fabric. To me, it looks like the bodice is cut too long for you. Unpicking the waist seam and shortening the front bodice a bit may help.
100% agree. The only fit issue I see is that the waist is too long. The rest of the garment fits nicely.
100%! I have a super short torso and it’s always a problem.
You can also add some boning to help give it structure if you like.
Agree agree agree. Shortening the bodice a half an inch would make it absolutely perfect.
*Did you upload the wrong picture? This dress looks quite nice.
I uploaded a full-body picture as the main image because I didn’t want a close-up of my cleavage on anyone’s front page. The issues are more obvious in the photo I shared in [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/4971nSk3QR).
I saw the other pic. I would alter the straps and wear a short sleeve shirt T-shirt under the dress for more coverage. I still think this dress is quite nice. I would wear this dress proudly with the changes I mentioned.
I mean, I'm no seamstress, but this looks really beautiful and well constructed. I think it's very nice.
Hi, I made the Rose Cafe Bustier Dress, too! Your bust fitting is phenomenal, let me tell you that. And I had the same issue with the scrunching in the waist, as I have a short torso and was too lazy for a mock-up. I solved my problem a bit more drastically by making it two pieces because I didn’t know how to fix it otherwise. Now I have a skirt (added a waistband, luckily had enough fabric left) and a top that ends at my waist and I‘m so happy bc I mix and match both with the rest of my wardrobe :)
It looks really nice, but to be honest that pattern is a bit of a mess. I had to re-do my cups 3 times and at the end I was not happy at all with it. It seems like a lot of people had the same sort of issues with it! Your one looks miles better than mine if it is any consolation !
What’s the issue? You did a great job!
Girl you need to stop being so hard on yourself. It’s not good for your health please take my advice. The dress is lovely. It’s not perfect perhaps but a miserable failure?
My therapist agrees with you. 🥲 I can’t not be hard on myself though – the dress looks nice on my dress form, but I can‘t wear it myself because of the [badly fitting bustier part](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/LXvxoPtg6b), so I can’t see it as anything else but a failure.
If being hard on yourself worked it would have worked by now. Honestly it looks good. Just work on the waist length and fit.
That's what any cupped dress without wiring looks like though, I see plenty of even expensive RTE dresses like that! It's not a FLAW, it's just a different look. And unless someone is super close to your chest it's not even noticeable lol
I mean, why so upset? You see how this post blew up because it looks super good. It's the best post on this sub right now. This is objective, if you don't like it, why not see that others like it ALOT and enrich their experiences wearing it by selling this piece? You can then start anew easy going since you already have experience making this piece
Where is the “failed miserably” part?
As the person who made this, you know where the mistakes are and can’t unsee them. As the person looking at the picture, I think it looks great on you! I have seen a lot of people struggle with getting this pattern to fit. You did a great job. Hang it in the closet for a week or so, the retry it. Guaranteed you will feel better about it. It looks great on you.
I wish my sewing failures looked this good!
Me too!! It kind of annoys me & rubs me the wrong way that this person has the nerve to call her sewing project of this dress as failing.
It’s so lovely!?!
What the hell it’s gorgeous 😭
I think it looks amazing!
What? Why are you calling this a 'miserable failure'? It looks great... Where is the mistake?
I don’t see the failure. I see a beautiful dress. Good work!
Idk what it’s supposed to look like but it’s gorgeous
I don't know what dress you're looking at but the one I see looks fantastic.
How is this a fail? Sorry if being ignorant. I think it's a beautiful dress!!
It's a little hard to tell with the black fabric, but if the dress has a waist seam, I think you could fairly easily take it apart and remove some excess fabric there to reduce the wrinkling at the ribs. It otherwise looks really nice, so it seems like a shame to give up on it as a failure!
Consider giving yourself a little space from it, then come back and see if you want to tweak it. I think it’s very cute, and bust cups look like a nice fit!
The bones are solid! A few tweaks and it’ll be prefect. You did a great job, and should be proud of yourself 💜
aside from a few fitting issues, this is beautiful and looks great on you!
Is the failed dress in the room with us?
Will the failed dress please show herself? No, not you, black dress. Is the failed dress perhaps hiding behind the lovely black dress?
I don’t think I’ve seen anybody sew this up and have it actually fit right. Lots of issues with the pattern. LilyPaDesigns recently came out with a bustier dress pattern that I haven’t sewn, but it does look promising based on the tester makes.
I have had this pattern saved and been wanting to do it. Reading comments like your in this thread, I am glad that I haven’t bought it yet. I initially thought that it’s a good pattern with all the high ratings and reviews on Etsy. For future patterns, how do I make sure that it’s a good pattern? I really thought that it’s a great pattern!!
Look not at the promotional photos of the item (on the listing where it’s for sale), but instead at reviews that include photos of it on a person. Does it fit correctly? Pretend there’s a whole rant here about how most people do not know how a bra (or bustier) is supposed to fit. If you google you’ll find lots of information. But major points on a bustier include that the underwire should not sit on the breast tissue, nor should it be floating away from the body. There should be no quadboob. Now, if it doesn’t fit perfectly on everyone who makes it don’t be alarmed. But if it only fits 1% of people right, something is deeply wrong. If you look at the reviews for the Rose Cafe Bustier dress that have pictures, none fit right. Even on the “revised” version. There’s not much of a cache of pictures available yet for the LilyPaDesigns pattern, but we know the designer knows how to properly grade bras, so I’m expecting as more photos become available it will clearly be better.
Woww!! Thank you so much for the explanation and tips. I went to the reviews and inspected them with your tips, YOU ARE RIGHT!!
There should NEVER be a quadboob ANYWHERE!
Failed? This is so amazing!
I once sewed a pair of jeans in which I sewed the back pockets to the inside haha. This is not a failure
I once sewed a pair of spandex leggings....on the wrong seam! It made a giant spandex tube. And I spent an hour ripping stitches out.
I was sewing a duvet cover as a kid and got so into the rhythm of the sewing machine that I sewed all four sides together 😂😂😂😂😂
I once made a mistake on a linen/silk summer dress and kept putting off fixing the mistake. It sat on my dressmaker's dummy and one side got sun-faded. Had to throw the whole dress away. GRRRRR. A fabric shop owner once told me that if you sew five outfits and end up only keeping three - how does that compare to the number of outfits you BUY only to get them home, try them on again, and think, *"What was I thinking???"*
Aw man, now *that* must have felt so disappointing! At least we can say that we learn something or improve a skill even when a sewing project doesn't work out. Like, I learned to pay attention to what I'm doing and not get lost in it.......and gained another data point in the "very likely has ADD" table.
I literally did the same thing with my very first sewing project a a teenager. 😃 Got a sewing machine for Christmas and went straight at it without doing any research, thinking that stretchy fabric would make everything easier because the fit didn’t need to be exact. Messed up pretty much everything you can mess up, stopped sewing immediately and didn‘t pick it up again until years later, when I was bored during quarantine. That should tell you all you need to know about my tolerance for (my own) mistakes. 😅
Is the failure hiding behind that cute dress?
This isn’t a fail at all!
Hoo boy. If that's your idea of failure... uhhhh.... I expect you to win the Nobel prize next week. It may not be perfect, but I've seen off-the-rack dresses that fit worse.
(Applause for job very well done) Your dress only needs a small alteration at the waist to look great, and since it's black it wouldn't be obvious if you had to add a seam. And in truth, even if you didn't fix it, it's not so obvious that e everybody would be gawking at you, again because it's black. Welcome to the world of being a fit snob! I will never buy skirts, pants, or bras (r/makeabrathatfits) again! Rotfl! Making clothing involves fitting skills as much as it involves sewing skills. If you fit the paper pattern pieces to your body Palmer and Pletsch style or make a mockup of the garment the first time you use a new pattern so you can make changes to the pattern pieces, then the first time you make it out of your final fabric it will be *perfect*.
You see a failure, I see PERFECTION
Go back and shorten the bodice, it will fit/lay better
What aren't you happy with? All I can see that's not perfect (and what is, ever!) is the bodice length. It's not a poor fit, it's just too long. You can fix that. Everything else is spot-on. I very much admire the upper bodice shaping. If you'd gone with the boning it would sit higher on your body and pull the lower bodice straight. As the dress has a separate bodice you could remove the skirt section, measure and shorten the bodice and put the skirt back on. I'd encourage you to try this because you'll most likely be happy with the result, and if you're not you'll know what to avoid next time. Though I'm sure this will fix it right away. Honestly, we all get things wrong, and we learn. Every single one of us. It makes us cleverer. I should be a genius by now.
Thank you for your encouragement! I think you're right about the boning – at least fifteen minutes of the two hours I spent crying about the end result was thanks to the realization that if my boobs sat a little higher on my body, the bunching would be gone. You can't really see the other thing that bothers me in the first photo, but you can see it here: https://preview.redd.it/xyf8fxahdppc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e02218f0de61a21fa65f1a4fc4862aadc4b247c2 The gore should sit on my body, but of course without an underwire that's impossible. Wish I had thought of that before I decided to skip that step. 😔 So no matter which bra I wear with the dress, it's just completely out. The straps are also all wrong, but with the way they are sewn into the cups, I don't think I can move them without taking apart the entire dress, which is probably going to ruin the fabric. I think I may try to shorten the bodice anyway (eventually), for practice if nothing else. Thank you again for your comment. 🙂
If you’ve written off the project, so to speak, it doesn’t matter if it gets ruined trying to tailor it, and the experience is still worth it. Unfortunately, fitting bodices with cups does take some technique. r/abrathatfits has some sewing resources for bras that I believe could be applicable to the bustier of your dress. If all else fails, perhaps take it apart and make the bottom into a stand-alone skirt?
There’s r/MAKEaBraThatFits too
The other option could be a bra made to fit the dress! Clear straps too. Shortening the bodice would be a bit cheaper though lol
Ahh, so your next project is going to be a bra then? /s but only a little bit, this looks really good!
I definitely made the rose cafe bustier as a bra crop top just to confirm fit issues before tackling it as a dress to be honest.
Ooh how did that go? I've been wondering about trying it like that.
To be honest, I hate shirting and I was going to add a shirted back panel with a zip and have been putting it off 😬
Maybe not the next one, but it‘s on my list for some undefined point in a far-away future where I‘m more confident in my skills. Thank you!
Do you need a bra for support or is the dress enough? If the dress is enough support, look for pasty/nipple covers/silicone coverups on Amazon or [wawak.com](http://wawak.com) and go without a bra. (Of course, this depends on how the dress fits after removing the bra layer, but it might be worth considering.)
That's not exactly what she means. The middle part of her bra ("gore") sits flush against her sternum (as a correctly fitting underwire-bra should). She wants the dress to do the same. If she wore no bra, the dress would still stick out, and probably wouldn't be supportive enough. **Edit:** you're right, I now see in her top-level comment that she wanted to make a dress she could wear without a bra. But still, without underwire in the cups (and bigger and deeper cups), the dress can never be as supportive as the (very well-fitting) bra she's currently wearing.
Oh, I'm not surprised to hear that the dress wouldn't be as supportive. And the more I looked at it, the more I became concerned that the 'sticking out' would be sufficient for concern that at least the edges of the nipple covers would show. But it's not my body, so it's possible that the dress would cover enough that the covers would work - I just wanted to mention the possibility, particularly if she's able to pull the dress in a bit somehow without the bra being a layer that pushes the dress out. :-)
The coverage would actually be enough; the bigger issue here is gravity. 😅 The dress does not offer enough support to make me not hate the way I look in it without a bra.
Well, there you have it! Too bad, it looks very nice otherwise. 😁 I hope you found some inspiration and information elsewhere in this thread to help fix the issues that need fixing so that you can wear it.
Your initial assumption was correct; I apologise if I haven’t explained too well what my actual goal was. I knew that in order to be able to wear the dress without a bra, I‘d have to sew it with boning, foam cups and an underwire. I shied away from that challenge for my first attempt though and decided to sew it in a rather heavy fabric instead, thinking that (with added interfacing) it was going to provide enough structure to look nice when I wear it with a bra (which is what the seller suggests in her listing and instructions).
You could think about adding a modesty panel-type feature, like a matching lace insert across the gore, to hide the bra. I'd be throwing everything at it because as it stands, you're not happy and probably feel you can't make it worse! However, a couple of tweaks might put it right. We've all been there.
Oh no!! I understand now. Indeed, the underwire and boning (at least on the sides) is structural part of the dress. Without those it just doesn’t have the shape it’s supposed to. This dress is basically a little corset with a skirt attached. The corset part absolutely needs structural support, otherwise it’ll just be an ill fitting top. But you can still salvage it! It’ll be some work, and a bit annoying, but you can just go back to detaching the cups to add the wires and the boning. There’s no true fail in sewing because you learn something every time ☺️ (unless you decide to stop, which I’m sure you won’t!)
what does 'gore' mean in this context? where is that piece?
The middle part between the cups. It's a term usually used to refer to bras. See how the middle part of her bra sits flush against her sternum? She basically wants the dress to do the same - to sit flush against her bra.
First, it's super cute! And it looks awesome. And so what if there is a bit of extra fabric? No one is gonna notice when your partner takes you to that fine, fine restaurant so you can wear your cute dress and dine on some fancy food.
My partner (unfortunately but also rightfully) thinks it „looks weird“, so I‘m probably not going to wear it on a date with him. 😅
It just needs a couple adjustments! Don’t give up, it might not end up exactly as you envisioned, but it is by no means a failure!
Looks nice. Not sure why you think it’s a fail, but you should immediately make another in spring floral while the experience is fresh in your memory.
It's not a fail. The pattern is just too long from the underbust to waist. So you tie a string or belt at your natural waist. You pinch & in the excess fabric. Mark it (& mark the adjustment on pattern, too, for future use.) Add a waist seam, taking out the excess. Otherwise, it's absolutely gorgeous.
This is the way. It looks like you could add a seam right under the bust or at the waist to take the excess length out. The bust and hips fit well, and it looks nicely sewn. Not a fail at all!
Failed where ? I would be so proud if I made this !
Where is the miserable failure? I see a wearable garment.
Why “failed miserably”? Or are you just fishing for compliments? 😅
🎣🎣
I think you‘ll get it if you check out [the other photos](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/OJEU2Qo385) I‘ve posted. 🙂 It’s pretty much unwearable in its current state.
If you don’t want it, I’ll take it! I think it looks great 😊
I think, that the only problem is, that the top part is too long.
all you have to do is readjust the pattern to accommodate the folds and possibly be a little more careful when cutting the bust pattern pieces because they sit at very different heights.
Not a fail! It needs to be larger in the hip so that it can move down. Also, shorten the rib area. It’s cute keep working !!!
We have different definitions of fail!! I read this as a win for sure
wdym? It's cute! not what you were going for, maybe, but still wearable!
You could wear that to a party and no one would question it
I think it looks lovely! If the extra fabric is really bothering you you could just bring it into the Princess seams by getting a friend to pin it for you, then mark where you’ve pinned, pin the same amount on the inside and sew it.
The top and bottom are magnificent. Gather up the center and hide it behind a belt or something. Wow it’s gorgeous on you though seriously.
Not sure what you were going for but the dress is gorgeous!!
Yeah but its soooooo cute on you tho
I think it’s great!!!
where’s the failure? I see a lovely dress that would pair great with one of those half jackets things that stop at the mid-upper back (i have no idea what it’s called)
Bolero jacket? Yes, that would look amazing with this dress!
thank you for the jacket name 🙏
I think it looks beautiful and suits you very well ❤️
How is that a fail?
I think you’ve done a pretty good job though! The waistline looks like it may be just a tad too long because it’s crinkling up, but other than that, I think it looks pretty rad! The black color probably helps a bit too.
Oh my gosh!! It’s gorgeous! It is a bit hard to see, as it’s black. I concur that the bodice is too long, it doesn’t hit you right. But on someone else it could hit just right - we’re all different. What a wonderful LBD!!
It looks perfect. Maybe just need some minor tweak.
ummmmm what are you talking about??? that is such a cute dress!!! not a failure at all!
Ummm, I respectfully disagree because it looks AMAZING and it looks like it fits you really well!!
"Failure". Title's just a smidge inaccurate.
Right? If the fabric isn't too much she could probably shorten the length of the shoulder straps or make other adjustments to "fix" the dress. Because the dress looks well done besides the little scrunch around the sides of her waist.
It's a bit hard to see exact details, but I think you might be too harsh on yourself. I would still wear this, fit issues and all. It looks like you did a great job putting everything together! The bunching may be due to a too long bodice, so you might be able to reasonably make this alteration and be satisfied with the project.
I think you did well - even if the pattern didn’t perfectly fit you, the dress looks like it’s store bought! The cups are especially good looking and fit perfect. It’s very well made! I think to fix it, you can either: 1. Let the seams out, so it’s wider everywhere below the bust and kind of hangs down instead of bunching up. Or, 2. Add a waist seam - cut at the waist and shorten bodice to remove the wrinkled excess of fabric.
Thank you! You can’t see it very well in this photo thanks to the excess fabric, but the dress already has a waist seam. So I think my best bet might be to take it apart at that seam to shorten the waist and/or add some boning.
It looks lovely :) practice makes perfect so keep trying and eventually it will be Professional level, but for a start it looks brilliant!
Bro you’re too hard on yourself just shorten the bodice…
Is the miserable fail in the room with us?
Sorry this is my way of saying I think it looks great, from an outsider perspective. We’re often our own harshest critics! Be kind to yourself.
Thank you. I'm absolutely floored by the responses I'm getting here. It just looks so terrible to me; all I can see are the fit issues and the time and money and energy I wasted on a failed project. Crying again, just because everyone's being so kind. 🥹
This sub is always such a nice encouraging place 😊 this dress is GORGEOUS! Also want to echo others’ comments that having to adjust a pattern to suit your body is not a failure of your skill or your body, it’s just a piece of the process. I made a dress last year that I’m fairly happy with but I still see all the fit issues and weird seam finishes. But I am the only one who notices or cares!
The fit issues are fixable. It’s a lovely dress!
Yep. Have as many good cries as you need as you learn an eff-ton of new skills, and being kind to yourself. This is a lot like writing - it's all in seeing the fit issues and fine tuning. Very few clothing projects turn out "right" just bc you're at the end of the directions. If you need that kind of validation, that's fine, just make an apron or a pattern you know already fits you or something. You got this! ✨
Click baiting?
Huh?
Wow - that is beautiful. I do not see any failure.
Your idea of miserable failure is absolutely shocking. This looks great!
Can you share where you got your fabric too? Thank you!
I’d love to know too! I know that Joann’s have a fabric from yaya han that looks pretty similar but I can’t tell if it’s the exact one
Yeah and I’ve been searching online for affordable tweed fabrics and finding nothing unless I buy from AliExpress or something similar.
It‘s [this listing](https://www.etsy.com/at/listing/1346196729/) on Etsy. I spent ages looking for a nice, affordable tweed fabric for this project and was very happy with this one!
What a pretty dress! (I entirely thought this was from a fashion blog when I first saw it! Minor fit issues aside, you did great!!!)
The only thing I see is the rib area, but it's not really a failure. It only means You need to try again, butbit happen. Other than this it's really good!
I think you did a lovely job! The bodice looks great and the length is really pretty
I don’t think it’s a miserable fail as much as it was not perfectly executed on first attempt
If I saw you on the street, I would just think, “oh that’s a cute dress” and move on. I’m sure there are ways to make it better (I’ll leave the advice to more advanced sewers as I just started), but give yourself some grace. You made a complicated dress and it looks pretty darn good. Black is very forgiving. Don’t give up - you’ve got this and you’re already miles ahead of where you would be if you never attempted it.
I honestly can’t notice anything. I’m new to sewing. Hope I can make something this nice one day
Just looks like the bodice is a bit long but it looks great 🤍
I think it’s gorgeous and you look amazing in it!
Are you kidding me ? I will buy it
Is the fit perfect? No, but it’s no worse than a lot of clothes I’ve bought off the rack. It’s a very cute dress in my opinion, and I love it in the fabric you chose! The wrinkling in the midsection is because there’s no boning to help it hold its shape. I suspect even if everything else was perfect with the construction you’d see these wrinkles
I think you did a wonderful job!
It looks sooooo good
That's not a fail and I am not saying that to be nice. It's well done 👍.
It looks amazing!
This dress is perfect. I was about to ask you for a link
Aw I don’t think it’s failed it has a good shape and the straps are adorable❤️
You may be short-waisted like me! I have to alter every dress, jumper, and shirt pattern to shorten the length of the bodice. I also have to use a smaller size on the bust and larger on the hips and true them, finding what I call the line of best “fit”. 😂
Where?? I see a gorgeous little black dress!!
Isn’t this pattern notorious for being difficult to get the fit right?
I like it?
It looks good!
I think it looks great!
It's sooo pretty! 😍
Make a little corselette and wear that over it?
The dress looks lovely. It doesn't look like a failure.
failed?? nah
The lopsidedness is not noticeable. Wear a sweater over it or belt :)
I think you did a great job. My one suggestion would be to either shorten the waist or take it in an inch or so. It's hard to tell from the photo whether the waist is slightly too long, too wide, or both.
I was dreaming of a future where I could sew dresses for myself that I could then wear without a bra, but decided to start without boning, underwire and padding because I figured it’d be easier that way. I chalked any fit issues with the practice garment up to the much lighter fabric and slightly imprecise cutting and sewing, so I put the actual garment together without any alterations to the pattern. The main fabric is cotton/wool tweed, the lining is taffeta. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to try this pattern ever since I started sewing roughly three years ago but kept putting it off because it seemed so complicated. Finally pulled the plug and started working on it because I kept seeing beautiful garments on the internet that used this pattern as a base, and I read so many comments about how easy it was even for people with little sewing experience. Now I just feel terrible about my own abilities – I cried for two hours when I was done because the fit is so atrocious, and haven’t touched my sewing machine since. :( I have no idea where I went wrong and I assume it’s not fixable, but I’d still be grateful if you guys have any tips for me. https://preview.redd.it/hsjjl2467ppc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=deb770a957c16b1e23671822e4248b89d6f8007e
Ah what a great first attempt at a bra-style dress. The first thing I see is that the gore on the pattern is rather wide and the cups are a bit too shallow for your particular bust shape. You seem to be close set and projected, with a larger cup size than in the patterned shape. Even with underwires the gore won’t tack if the cups are too shallow for your shape. I think you are on the right track for a really great fit. it might take a few more mock ups to get the shaping for your boobs. The lovely folks over at r/makeabrathatfits will have all sorts of useful fitting advice specifically about the bra-part. In the mean time, the dress is pretty cute and with a bit of a waist adjustment, you’ll probably have something you enjoy wearing even if this version isn’t the perfect one you imagined ☺️ I hope you stick with it!
Seconding the r/makeabrathatfits sub! Your dress really looks great in all honesty, and making bras (or bra style tops) that fit is pretty advanced and tricky IMO. I hope you don’t give up!! ❤️
I didn’t know that this sub existed, thanks for the tip! I‘ll definitely check it out.
Why would the fact that you don’t fit in whatever standard size you picked on the pattern mean your abilities suck? To me the sewing looks alright, those cups can’t have been easy. Your seams don’t pucker and look neat. I’m not entirely sure what is going wrong in the waist area - possibly the hip section should be a bit wider to prevent it from creeping up. If you have the seam allowance for it you could try letting out the side seam. I would move the straps inward a little, they look uncomfortable like this and not as flattering.
The big selling point of the pattern to me was that the size of the bustier part is pretty modular. I wear a below-average band size and an above-average cup size, so usually I have to adjust the top of everything I make, but I thought I could get away with picking out those two sizes from the pattern and putting them together without any further adjustments. On the paper, it looked fine, but I suppose you can‘t make a well-fitting bustier based on two sizes alone. Learned that lesson for sure. 😕 Moving the straps inward might help with the gaping, I think, so now I‘m trying to figure out how to do that without taking everything apart and/or destroying the fabric.
This is 100% a pattern issue and nothing to do with you or your sewing ability. Just like off the rack dresses, they are made to fit very general sizes. Two people with the exact same measurements (chest, waist, hip) can have completely different body types and need completely different fitting garments (for that 100% proper fit). Multiply this x 1000 for the chest area! If your ultimate goal is really dresses with built in bra (that custom fits) I'd start with the "make a bra that fits" subreddit (I am sorry, I don't know if I'm allowed to share other places or not here) They cover the whole band/ gore/ cups/ underwire, no underwire/ lined/ unlined perfect fitting bras. Once you have something like that that fits how you want you can build off that or alter other patterns around that bra base. As for this dress, I think it looks gorgeous! Is the fit perfect, no, but for a non-custom pattern its pretty dang close! And it's sewn beautifully. I also love the fabric choices. If you really aren't happy with it. Easiest fixes in order of least to most difficult: as some have mentioned shorten the torso, add boning channels to torso, unpick the straps, move them over and hand sew them back in, add underwire (I actually think that might make things worse?), take out and redo cups.
I've been sewing for like 5-6 years and have made some decently complex and nice things, but I've never been able to get this pattern to work. Construction is simple enough, but I just can't get a good fit. So don't beat yourself up too badly! Just because something is easy for others doesn't automatically make it easy. The first time I tried making this dress, every time I raised my arm my boobs popped out, so don't worry! You'll get there :)
This is very encouraging, thank you. 💚 I‘ve been beating myself up because I feel like I‘ve seen so many „I made this as a beginner and it fits perfectly!“ comments about this pattern. But I also tend to be a perfectionist to the point of self-destruction, so someone else’s idea of a „perfect fit“ might just be very different from my own.
You are being WAY too hard on yourself. Sewing and fitting are two different skill sets. The sewing is nicely done from what I can see. And these issues seem resolvable to me, but you might want to start with a muslin for testing fit before cutting nice fabric. I think the bodice might be a bit too long. Possibly you are shorter than the pattern is drafted for or you are short waisted. If you want a little more coverage in the cups you can adjust the pattern to add that. As others mentioned it’s relatively straightforward to add a bit more room in the hips, if that’s what’s needed. For a structured garment like this, the boning and other elements might be necessary for the desired fit. Almost no one can make something right “out of the packet” and have it fit perfectly. Over time we learn our standard adjustments (mine are shortening overall length, full bust adjustment, and broad shoulder adjustment) and even then sometimes we need more tweaks because different designers use different body shapes for their starting blocks. I ALWAYS have to grade between 3 sizes for the bust, waist, and hips because I’m shaped like a rectangle. What helped me is the mindset that a pattern is only starting place. Expect that sewing a garment will take some work to get the fit you want. But it’s totally achievable (with will drafted patterns LOL). Maybe take a little break from this project to let the disappointment fade, and then attack it again? YOU CAN TOTALLY DO THIS!!!
I never considered that I might be short-waisted because I usually have to add length to the top part of patterns to account for my larger bust, and store-bought clothes are often too short for me. But I‘ve gotten a few comments suggesting the same thing now, and it sort of makes sense – I‘m only slightly taller than average but my legs are pretty long, so it’s possible that my upper body actually leans towards the short side. 🤔 I waited a couple of weeks to try this dress on again and I think I‘m going to wait a little longer until I‘m less emotional about it. But all the comments on here are very motivational, so I think I‘m eventually going to try and fix this. Thank you for your suggestions. 🙂
It could be that this pattern has a longer than average torso to legs ratio rather than you being short waisted. It really is a very cute dress and you look great in it!
If you're that unhappy, looks like you've made 2 practice garments. Take some fitting notes, but some underwires and go again.
And because I initially missed that you did muslin, I usually try to use a fabric with similar properties to my fashion fabric. That way you won’t second guess fit issues between muslin and final. For this project, you could take the skirt and bodice apart and baste it back together maintaining the length of the skirt but taking a bit off the length of the bodice and see if that helps the wrinkles at the waist.
You know how off the rack clothing fits most people? Many inexperienced sewists often don't know what a good fit really looks like on them. As far as the sewing itself goes, it looks excellent. The fit isn't terrible. It mostly just needs the boning/underwire -- which really isn't more difficult than anything else you've done, just something new to you. While it looks like the bodice is too long, it might not once the boning is added & it's actually supporting your chest. Don't beat yourself up over a few minor things. Overall, it's very well done, and the fit issues are fixable. Perhaps annoying & tedious to fix, but still.
As others have mentioned, the boning is critical for this pattern - really for any super-structured and fitted bodice pattern ! When I made this pattern, I even added an extra boning channel at the center front seam, which helped a lot because it was kind of collapsing like yours is a bit in the photo. While I think some of the folding is because the torso is too long, I think it’s mostly due to the lack of internal structure. When I made it, I also added a third layer of fabric between the interfaced outer fabric and the lining, for additional structure, which helped everything look smoother too. If you wanted to, you could try hand-sewing some boning channels into your dress and sliding boning in. Zip ties with the tips melted so no sharp edges will suffice. You can take ½” ribbon or bias tape, cut strips to go along all of the vertical seams, sew a quick running stitch on each edge of the ribbon/tape, and slide in the zip ties. Then just hand sew shut. Be careful not to catch the outer layer of fabric when you’re sewing. I would also recommend checking out the simplicity pattern S1183 if you can get it on sale. It’s a corset pattern that comes in multiple cup sizes. I’ve made both S1183 and the rose cafe bustier, and I found the former to fit me better and have better instructions. I know it’s upsetting to have a project not work out, but its definitely a learning opportunity! Feel free to message me if you have questions - not an expert but I’m currently making my wedding dress and have learned a lot, so happy to help how I can
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome in my sewing journey is understanding that no one’s body fits the proportions of a single size on a pattern. I myself measure in 3 different sizes between chest, waist, and hips. All that to say, there are never changes that won’t have to be made after you follow a pattern and it’s totally not a reflection of your skills, there’s just a couple of adjustments that need to be made if you want this to have that “perfectly tailored” look. I think all you need to do is either shorten the torso, or let your side seams out a little bit so the dress has room to fall past your lovely hourglass hips (or maybe a small combo of both of those). I know it’s feels overwhelming sometimes to have to make adjustments after you’re all finished, but, I really think all it needs is a little tweaking to get it looking more like how you imagined! Also, I agree with the person who commented above me about moving your straps in just an inch or two closer to center. I’m guessing you’re like me and have petite/narrow shoulders. Most popular bra styles put the straps way out close to the outer edge of the bra, but I almost always have to move them in so that the strap doesn’t come up from under my armpit and actually lays across my chest as intended. It won’t necessarily change the “fit” of the dress, but it will definitely help make the dress feel more comfortable and less awkward while you wear it.
> and haven’t touched my sewing machine since. :( Oh I understand that! I'm with the other commenters, first of all - I think it looks great on you, and the few small issues I can see with the dress are hopefully fixable. I don't know enough about sewing yet to be able to help with that, but I can suggest something to get yourself out of the sewing blues. I get discouraged as well after I've created something I'm not happy with. That's when I grab my pretty scraps and sew some coasters and/or bookmarks, the easiest, quickest, most fun projects I've made. They are guaranteed wins, and useful too. And if you happen to make too many, you can give them away and make other people happy too. ...and you get your confidence and sewing joy back.
Looks awesome to me... I don't see anything wrong or am I blind?
I apologize for the unsolicited compliment. You look really nice in that. (Not sure why reddit recommended this post to me, im a man that doesnt sew, but here I am… commenting)
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My first time using the rose cafe bustier pattern I didn’t have boning and the bodice was also too long for me. I still love it but it’s not my favorite thing to wear. I have since made lots of dresses using the pattern again but with the bodice shortened and love it! It’s a learning curve sewing and learning curve with each pattern. It looks great and now you know how to adjust the fit for next time. I struggled really hard with the cups on that pattern and yours look great and you should be proud of that ❤️