Party Dress in Action!

Well, I knew I would finish this dress in time, but didn't realize that I would be sewing it up until 30 minutes before our Christmas party!  I ran into a couple snags, but I love how it turned out.

And the open back has to be my favorite part!  It is a sexy surprise and I think it's a great contrast for the conservative front of the dress.  I was terrified of cutting into the beautiful silk, but it came out great.  Another modification I made to the Burda 7494 pattern was completely redrafting the back.  I should have listened to the other reviews about the box pleats in the back, but I didn't.  And I looked ridiculous.  I ended up following the advice of Julia Bobbin on PatternReview.com about sewing the pleats all the way down, thus creating another seam.  I gradually tapered the seam so that I took in about 2 3/4 inches at each side of the top and about 1 inch on the bottom.  And the dress fit like a glove.   Here are some close up details.

 I added a button for the closure at the top of my cut out.  For the cut out I just traced the outline of a bowl on a piece of paper and used it as my cutting guide for the dress and lining.  I made sure that the circle wasn't too big that it would run into the seams of the dress.

 Here are the two new seams in the back.

And the peter pan collar is one of my favorite details.

We had such a fun night, and I loved being able to dress up.  The last time I wore a dress and heels was my sister's wedding in June, so needless to say, it was about time!