Vogue 1150 - Turquoise wool double-knit dress w/ front pockets

Hello! I finished this dress earlier in the week but had to wait for some daylight for pictures. This is such a fun and youthful little dress. I love the big patch pockets, raglan cap sleeves, and of course all the topstitching. The wool double-knit I used (a recent online purchase from Denverfabrics.com) was perfect for this design. It has the needed stretch and thick body to support the pockets and pocket flaps. I ended up adding 3 inches to the length. How are girls suppose to sit down in these super short styles and not flash their undies?!

I also really loved the back exposed zipper on this design. However, after a lot of thought, I decided to leave it off and do a small invisible zipper at the neckline instead. I'm a stay-at-home-mom and wear most of my dresses to church or for date nights. That means some of my dresses only get worn 2 or 3 times a year. I wondered how long an exposed zipper would be in style. I also had to take into account the fact that I used a high quality expensive fabric. In the end I was uncomfortable with the thought of only getting to wear this a handful of times before it started looking dated. I would still really like to make a garment with an exposed zipper sometime in the near future.

I took my time making these pockets and pocket flaps so they would be perfectly aligned.

Here's a close-up of the neckline and front topstitching. I was glad for all that topstitching because this wool double-knit did not want to stay ironed down. I find wool challenging to sew with because I am use to using my high-powered steam iron to make fabric bend to my will. But steam makes wool shrink so I spend three times longer pressing it.

The back is suppose to be cut on a fold. I added a 5/8" seam allowance and didn't cut on a fold in order to incorporate a 7" invisible zipper at the neckline. The neckband is interfaced and there was no way to fit my huge melon through the opening without it.

I'm nearly done with my jacket for February, but probably won't be able to get pictures of it until next weekend. Tomorrow is the last day of the Winter Olympics so hopefully I'll be able to get some focus back. Anyone else crazy about the Olympics like I am?