The Facts
Pattern:
Sewaholic 1202, Cambie, view A. Fitted, lined dress features a sweetheart neckline, darted bodice and extended cap sleeves with slim A-line or full gathered skirt.
Fabric:
Fashion Fabric: Royal Blue Suiting (97% poly/3% lycra) from Fashion Fabrics Club.
Lining: Blue China Silk purchased by my brother in Hong Kong when he was in the Navy. (Originally, I had made this farbic into a dress (OOP, McCalls 9396) back in the late 90s. It hasn’t fit in a while so I took it apart to use as lining fabric.)
Techniques:
Hand picked back zipper, stay tape neckline, with French & Hong Kong Finished Seams.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were finished sewing? Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I omitted the pockets since I’m not a pocket kind of gal. I left in the waist band (even though I think it’s an odd concept for a dress) and lengthened the bodice pieces by 1/2 inch (I don’t have long legs but I am very long waisted for being such a shorty.)
The pattern calls for the dress to be fully lined. I decided to line it only to the waist for two reasons. A) I always wear a half slip with my dresses. B) The only way I could use the silk as lining fabric would be by lining only the bodice & sleeves.
And with this Sewaholic pattern I cut a straight size 10. Previously when I sewed the Lonsdale I cut a zero on the bodice and a 10 or 12 for the skirt.
Wear again? Yes.
Sew again? Yes. This is a wearable muslin. I intend to make view B with a blue/white floral print (surprise, surprise).
Recommend to others? Yes.
Thoughts: Another win by Tasia & Sewaholic Patterns. This is a fantastic dress pattern. Easy to sew, provides nice coverage for either a work or casual dress.
After wearing this out for my 40th birthday dinner in January, I’ve decided to shorten it a bit and take up the sleeves by 1 inch – there are a lot of wrinkles in the back.
Don’t you think it looks better with the sleeves pinned up?
Also, I am going to try a straight neckline instead of the sweetheart. Check out Tasia’s Sewaholic Slightly Less Sweet Cambie tutorial.
PS Check out all of these great Cambie’s at Sewaholic’s Flickr Pool. I like Sew Busy Lizzy’s polka dot Cambie best – so clever with the waistband.
Denver Sewing Collective 
This dress is Perfect on you! You have the figure to wear anything lady. This is a color that compliments your complexion.
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very nice looking dress and on you it looks really good love the color also.
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That turned out beautifully. That is a good idea regarding the photographs. Even if you are by yourself you could take a selfie with a tripod to get a better assessment. Much better than twisting and turning in the mirror. You really did a great job on re-fitting it.
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Gorgeous! I making this one up for spring, i got the pattern for Christmas. I do prefer it with the sleeves pinned up, it seems to alleviate some of the back wrinkles an looks better fitted.
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Really cute. I love the color and I agree the shorter length is better.
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lovely dress and the color is wonderful. nothing more flattering than a sweetheart neckline. the “waistband” gives a nice detail. shortening the sleeves helps with the back wrinkling; however, I would only shorten them if it is doable with out actually cutting them. believe me, there will come a day when you will appreciate the extra cap/length of the sleeve. could you place small darts in the back to remove the excess? or, what about taking in the excess via the seam allowance? shortening the hem was a good improvement. if you have any of the “old” pink and white polka dot/daisy flower material left, it would be lovely made this way.
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Beautiful color on you, Jane! I think it does look better with the shoulder’s pinned up. Perhaps you didn’t need to lengthen the bodice by 1/2″ after all!
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This is a lovely dress Jane. Seeing it makes me happy that I ordered this pattern during Tasia’s recent birthday sale. I’m a newbie at pattern alterations and I have a question for you. Did lengthening the bodice by 1/2″ have anything to do with causing the wrinkles in the back? Or is that a separate issue that could only be solved by shortening the bodice at the shoulder seam line?
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Good point Kitty. I thought that too when I reviewed the photos. To be honest I don’t know. The best thing to do would be make another muslin and try it without the lengthening of the bodice. And perhaps since I left the waistband in I shouldn’t have altered the bodice.
Or another option would be to measure from my shoulder to my bust point, my bust point to my waist and then do some math computations. I have a lot of space from under my bust to my waist, almost 6″.
I probably could have left the bodice extension out and just shortened the sleeves a bit.
It’s amazing how much photographs help with fitting. I had no idea there were so much pooling in the back.
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