I made a new dress - for me. It is sort of a wearable muslin out of two inexpensive chiffon fabrics - the same black chiffon I used as lining for Gaby's dress and a bit more structured, but still very transparent and flimsy black chiffon with white flowers for the main fabric.
A curious fact about chiffon - because the fabric is very transparent, the color of the lining can totally change the overall color of the dress. In my case the black lining deepens the black of the background and mutes the white of the flowers into grey. I placed the fabric, just for fun, on other chiffon fabrics I have at home and the change with lighter lining was amazing - the color immediately becomes washed out and greyish.
The body is designed to be cut 2 cm under the waist and the suggested skirt is a simple rectangle, gathered at the waist. I don't like such skirts and find them very unflattering, so I added the semi-full Deniz. However, I found that the semi-full skirt should stay exactly on the waist line. I did take off one of the added 2 cm under the waist, but next time I'll cut the upper body exactly at the waistline. I also made a few cm corrections on the width of the neckline at the front and the back, as Burda patterns are wide on me in this area.
Next - the hidden zipper is at the side. This is more comfortable and logical, when a dress is sleeveless. However, the semi-full skirt behaves differently, when it is rotated so, that the straight parts are at the sides - the cross-grain parts at the back and the front pull and stretch and the skirt looks uneven. In the end I had to cut the skirt in an oval form, so that it would actually look circular. Next time I'll definitely place the straight lines at the back and the front and either try to add the zipper on the cross-grain on the side or move it to the back.
A small note for next time - the arm openings are a bit too narrow, I know I am a bit peculiar and prefer wider openings on sleeveless dresses, so I'll widen them just a bit next time - it's not a big deal.
With this dress I tried the burrito method for adding the full lining of a sleeveless body and it is magic - every seam is neatly hidden inside, there are no outer seams around the neck and the arm openings and the dress looks very polished. There are plenty of videos how to add the lining like that and I heartily recommend the method.
