Monday Makes & Finds: The Black Sheath Dress

This week is a bit late, because the "make" has been giving me nothing but problems.  I started this a couple years ago and decided to finish it up to have something chic and functional for fall. . . and Jove laughed.  The dress in question:

It is supposed to be a simple, all-purpose black sheath dress that I can wear to work or a restaurant, or whatever.  Not being a bust size 32, I enlarged the pattern and ended up with this shapeless mess:

 

This bit is a closeup of the material.  Sadly, due to the width of the bolt, the grain runs horizontally & not vertically on the dress.  I fussed with it for a while, but it refused to fit properly and so it was relegated to the UFO rack to think on it's sins. 

 

As I said, I picked it out again recently and began re-fussing.  I did a burn test (results: actual silk dupioni) and managed to fit the back, sides, & shoulder seams.  The neck is a bit wide, but I can deal with that. . . what I can't deal with are the wonky front seams.  

As you can see from the line drawing it has some interesting and unusual seaming that allows for shaping.  It also has cute little pointy pockets.  Now, those pockets are attached to the center front piece of the dress. In trying to take in the extra fabric from the bodice, I am ending up with pleats below the pockets--which accentuates the belly area.  

I don't know who created this meme, but it speaks to me. 

 

In order to keep that front piece smooth, I'm going to have to unpick the entire bodice section from the bust points through the pockets and possible a bit in the hips.  I *might be able to take in the extra width by making the side panels smaller, or the curve in the waist deeper.
 

This is making my head explode.  So, back to the UFO rack for a hot minute while I attempt something else.