Green Dress with Heartshaped Neckline

This is my year of dresses and I've made another one :) The pattern is much more involved than the previous sheath dress, with princess seams at the front, a hidden zipper, cut waistline and it also includes sleeves.

My fabric is a type of georgette and the lining is green colored polyester lining. The original dress is designed with a full circle skirt, but I opted for a semi-circle - neither did I have so much fabric, nor was I willing for so much volume.

My major modification was to transform the original front, which featured two separate fronts with real buttons into a single piece, only imitating a buttoned front. The major reason, apart from saving on labour, was that the original neckline was gaping on me and I had to take in some 3 cm in total from the volume. Of course, I could have opted for a solid front without any seams and if I am using more colorful fabrics for my next dress out of this pattern, that is what I plan to do, but the solid color of my fabric prompted me to add some interest to it in the form of the button band.  

  I also made my usual height modifications, which are one of the major reasons I rarely shop ready-to-wear dresses - my bust line and waist line need adjusting for my short stature. I took 0.8 cm of the height above the arm-openings and further 1 cm above waist. Next time I'll raise the waist just a tiny bit more, 0.5 - 0.7 cm would be a better fit, I think, especially if I decide to reduce the size from 36 closer to my 34.

Pattern: Burda #144 11 / 2016

Size: 36, reduced

Fabric: green georgette, polyester lining

Time to make: 1 week

The original pattern in the magazine does not include a pattern of the skirt, only instructions how to construct a full circle skirt, which is fairly simple and everybody knows, theoretically. It does not preclude the fact, that it is additional work, so I used my already cut and printed Vikisews Deniz skirt pattern, which I've been adding lately to most of my dresses.

The dress is lined - the body and the skirt are replicated out of polyester lining fabric.I did not see the point of adding volume to the sleeves, so they are left not lined. The lining of the skirt is also a semi circle skirt, but 10 cm shorter than the shell skirt.

The back closes with an invisible zipper and a hook and eye. I think I like the additional closure the hook and eye provides, however next time I think will go back to placing the invisible zipper right on edge of the neckline and skipping the clasp.