Tiramisu: A Sweet Success!

One of the best gifts I received this Mother's Day was the gift of time. My husband entertained the boys so I could have some daylight sewing hours (a rare treat!). I used the time to sew up my Cake Patterns Tiramisu dress.

I LOVE this dress. LOVE!!!!

I used a really lovely teal blue Sophia double knit from fabric.com (which is still available! I may need to buy some more colors...).

It is drapey and has a beautiful weight to it, and is very soft. It also seems to have excellent recovery. And it twirls! (Well, as well as it can with me in 5" heels... but you get the idea.)

The instructions were straightforward-- clear and concise with some nice illustrations. Even more awesome though was the online support through Cake Patterns' Web site. Stephanie (the designer) hosted a Tiramisu sew-along when the pattern was released and the posts for that were so helpful! It takes you from cutting through construction to finishing with helpful photographs, tips, and videos. I especially appreciated Day 5 and all of the information offered about checking fit. It was a HUGE help and very effective. To wit:

No gaping!!! I had done a 1" FBA following Cake Patterns' instructions. But to get it to fit well, I ended up cutting about 1" from the bottom of the bodice, moving the center notch points out by 1" on either side, and then doing 7/8" side seams through the midriff band. (ETA: I started with the size 35D bodice and a 32.5 skirt.)

In the sew-along, Stephanie suggested that decorative stitching can add a bit of fun to understitching. I gave it a try and love this little detail. Only I know it is there, but it makes me happy.

And check out those pockets! I was afraid the pockets would drag or just make my hips look ginormous. But they are awesome.

I also braved the dreaded coverstitch machine and used it to finish the hem.

I love my Tiramisu. I love how it fits, how it feels, and how I feel in it: fabulous!!!