When you make a pattern a number of times, you start to know what you want to change before you even begin working on the next version. You know how to get a little closer to perfection.

By the time I finished my first two Metamorphic dresses, I had a plan in my head for a last, “ultimate” Metamorphic dress. It would be the perfect colors, and the perfect length. I’d use everything I learned from all the other makes I’d worked on this past spring and it would be amazing.

And it is. But it isn’t perfect.

My first mistake was saving the original bodice pattern pieces. Like I mentioned in the last Metamorphic post, I rotated the shoulder straps in to make my other dresses, which worked great… but I saved the original pattern pieces, and those are the ones I picked up and traced when I started cutting this dress out.

Fortunately, I only made the mistake on one layer of the dress. I barely had enough fabric to cut the bodice again using the adjusted pattern. I had to piece the back bodice of the rust-colored layer from two pieces because I was nearly out of fabric. And I was really running out. The khadi cotton from a seller in India was the last yard of the bolt. There was no re-ordering this. I messaged her to check, because when I first ordered the fabric, it was so beautiful I wanted to get more for another project.

I added 3 inches in length to both layers. I used the bottom layer pattern piece for the back of the top layer, which meant the back of the dress wouldn’t scoop up like the front does. When I edited the photos for this post, I was surprised to see my knees were showing in the photos! This version of the dress feels so much longer than the others I made – I can’t see my knees when I’m wearing it, so I figured no one else could, either.

I finished side and top seams of skirt by folding the edge over a quarter inch twice. Since this method seemed to eat up a lot of fabric in my shibori-dyed Metamorphic dress, I added a generous .25 in. seam allowance on top and sides of skirt, which worked great. (In sewing, you can have a generous quarter inch, or a scant one. That is nondual thought at its best.)I used Snug Hug seam binding to finish bottom and sides of the bodice pieces, as well as the inseam pockets of the rust-colored under layer of the dress. It was my first time working with Snug Hug, and I was pleased with the results. I finger pressed the ribbon in half, then folded it over the fabric edge and sewed it on with one seam. It didn’t add bulk to the dress, and was no more tedious than other finishing methods I’ve tried.

For the patch pockets on the top layer, I sewed together two squares to make a lined pocket.

I did the forward shoulder adjustment to the bodice by cutting half inch off the front bodice shoulder piece and taped it to back. The shoulder seam ended up being pretty far forward. If I made another dress, I would probably want to go with a quarter inch adjustment rather than a half inch.

Lastly, I shaved a little off the front of the armcyes. I need to be able to reach forward without hitting a ridge of fabric.

In my last post about the Metamorphic dress, I mentioned how tedious the first and last part of the project were. This time, mainly because the two dresses were such different colors and I didn’t feel like changing the thread any more times than necessary, I did as much as I could of one layer, then switched thread colors and started working on the other layer. That meant I started with tedious stuff – finishing the seams of one dress. Then I was able to do something that came together quickly – piecing that side of the dress – before going back to the tedious part of finishing the edges of the other dress. It seemed like things were moving a little faster, even though it might not have taken much less time.

The hem went a little more smoothly this time, too, maybe because I anticipated that it was going to be really difficult. The rust-colored side was difficult to hem. The loose weave of the fabric was fraying and it was tough to get it right, but it ended up looking fine. The block print fabric was a dream to sew with – nice and crisp but with a good drape. It is the best of both worlds for garment sewing.

I was most excited about the fabrics I was working with for this dress – they are both so beautiful, but not overstated. I love how they look together. I ordered 3 yards of the rust-colored fabric, and before I started the dress, I managed to squeeze a Strata top out of the fabric. That’s why I hardly had any fabric left for the bodice mistake mentioned earlier, but I don’t have any regrets. The top is really soft and I love how it turned out.Before I started sewing with it this spring, I’d never worked with India cotton before. It’s beautiful, relatively easy to sew with (except when you’re doing a quarter inch fold over for the hem of a garment), and has great drape.

The only UGH about this project is the shoulder straps. Even with the adjustment to bring them inward, they fall really wide and feel loose. I got a stiff neck the last few days I was working on the dress, and when that happens, I hold my right shoulder up by my ear and my left shoulder dropped low, and that didn’t help the loose, lopsided feeling of the straps.

I’m going to give it some time and wear the dress with both sides out a few times before I decide if it’s something I can live with or if I need to adjust it. Part of the beauty of this dress is its layering potential, and I’d hate to tighten up the shoulder straps only to make it more difficult to layer with other clothes in the colder months. It’s just another reminder that nothing will EVER be perfect, ever. I could stop trying. Maybe someday I will no longer feel the need to aim for perfection.In the meantime, I have this beautiful, almost-perfect dress to wear. (I don’t know why I look so mad about it. That’s just my RBF. This was the best pic my photographer got.)

I have another khadi cotton make, the light blue pants in this post.