Simplicity 2777-Arkivestry Gown

This is not one of my usual garments, but a friend asked me if I could make this for a project he's involved in. It sounded interesting so I agreed to help him out.

The fabric started out as white silk chiffon, then he painted it with Setacolor  to get the red he wanted. You can also see the gold accents he added, but it's difficult to see all the effects he added from applying the paint over scrunched up plastic and adding accents of other colors. The paint does not affect the hand of the fabric too much, but made it easier to handle.

The pattern is this one from Simplicity:

There is a lot of ease in this pattern, to say the least. I made it in the smallest size in the envelope (6) and I was able to try it on with plenty of room to spare.

I originally intended to have French seams throughout, but ended up switching over to serged. I kept sewing the French seams backward because I couldn't tell right side from wrong. Either way, I think it's fine since both types read as narrow seams from the surface of the gown.

I do have a couple of gripes about this pattern that I'll remedy if I ever make it again. I initially thought that the neckline was a casing; it is not. The instructions call for a gathered neckline that's a production to make. And I still don't know what they mean by 2" wide "novelty ribbon braid", which is supposed to encase the raw edge of the gathered neckline. C'mon Simplicity, you own a company that sells trim! So throw us a bone will ya, and tell us what you want us to use! It's not as if there's a copyright issue or anything. I couldn't find a trim fitting this description locally, so I punted and used the neckline technique from the blouse views. Still gathering like crazy, but this version has you narrow hem the raw edge and sew narrow ribbon over the gathers, forming ties. I think it's reasonably successful:

There are two layers of ribbon on mine. I bought satin and organza ribbons to play with. The organza was a little weak for gathering onto, and the satin was a little bright. So I gathered onto the satin and applied the organza on top to knock back the shine. I actually like the ruffled edge, so I hope my friend will too.

The gathers were made by zigzagging over dental floss laid on the gathering line. Excellent technique if bringing in a large quantity of fabric. However, turning under a casing and inserting elastic would have also accomplished this effect with less effort.