Self Drafted Pattern: 22952-1003 (Knockoff of Sears Kardashian D) - Type:Dresses
Review submitted in RTW/Designer Knockoff Contest Contest  | | Viewed 380 times
| | Review rated Helpful by 1 people Very Helpful by 6 people | | Reviewed by: | ryan's mom | 
| About ryan's mom | | PA USA | | Member since: 11/30/04 | | Reviews written: 117 | | Favored by: 43 people | | patterns reviewed: 102 | | Bio: more... |
| | Posted on: | 2/28/13 2:54 PM | | Project Photo: |  | | | | Fabric: | Cotton-Lycra Knit [See other projects in this fabric] | | Related Links | Click on  to add a link |
| This review is for the 2013 RTW Knockoff Contest. At this time I have not completed a blog post for this project and all photos are located in this review.
Here are several photos so the dress can be properly reviewed for the contest:
Various Front views:
RTW Knockoff Entry Composite Photo
Front View 1
Front View 2
Front View 3
Front View 4
Back View 1
Back View 2
This review is a tribute to the late, great Shannon Gifford. She worked with many of us PR Members who were fortunate to have the guidance of her expert knowledge in the areas of fitting and sewing in PR classes. As always, every garment I make is a little bit of Shannon Gifford  . Her spirit lives on in the many garments made by her former students.
Pattern Description:
This dress is my self-drafted knockoff of this Sears Kardashian Dress I found on the Sears website. I've been meaning to make this dress for a while and even had the blue leopard print fabric for at least 5 or 6 months.
Pattern Sizing:
Made to measure. I took my measurements and drafted a skinny, sexy dress and this was Version #1. I called this a proof in my review because it's not a muslin, not a test garment, but a proof of my self-drafted pattern which I was pretty sure would work.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
N/A. I've been spending a lot of time looking at the Bebe website for my two college-aged girls and have been quite annoyed that none of the pattern companies have a dress I've been looking for. In fact, I have been doing so much drafting and Frankenpattern work lately just to please my picky girls lol. Vogue actually had one pattern that was close to what I wanted, and I do have that pattern, but I need one that can be easily molded to my figure and theirs.
It's pretty close except for minor modifications noted below.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
N/A. Just did my own thing. When I get the chance, I'm going to blog about how I drafted my dress so hopefully everyone can have their own sexy dress.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Loves:
1. Princess lines! And lots of them!!! My original red lace dress was easy as the princess lines were all vertical. On my revamped pattern for my RTW Knockoff, however, I had to redraw the original pattern all put back together, then redraw new princess seamlines as per the Knockoff design. Trust me, this did not make things easy! So many style lines going all different ways, deciding which ones to take in, let out, removing basting, rebasting...Wow. Let's just say vertical lines are way easier to deal with than style lines on a curve that intersect with other seams.
2. The fit. This is the fit I've been looking for! A sexy, molded-to-the-figure look in a forgiving knit.
3. The fit of the bra cups. I drafted the bra cups from a RTW foam cup bra. This isn't a hard task, but it's not super easy. Seamed bras would be way easier for obvious reason. Again, I will do a blog post eventually on how I drafted the cups. I'm just trying to get this review done to enter the contest.
4. The cost. The Sears Kardashian dress is now $58.99 on sale from the original price around $100. $60 isn't going to break my budget, but this version cost me about $12-$15 including thread and zipper.
5. Tweaking the Knockoff to flatter a 46-year old body as opposed to the 23-year old model's body. For example, see (in the review link above) how I modified the pattern from my original review in comparison to the knockoff in the arm crease area? Some women like myself are predisposed to those little "love pouches" at the arm crease unless I stand up straight. I must remember to do that . This dress, however, was modified so that the sides come up to the crease for a more flattering look. After all, which is cheaper lol...liposuction or altering the pattern. I'll take the latter ;) .
6. Can we talk zippers? I loathe invisible zips in snug dresses. They don't work. My daughters have proved it time and time again with broken zips after 2 or 3 wearings. I love my centered zip. It's durable, it can take the stress of what I'm going to dish out.
No Dislikes. Well maybe the one minor aggravation was all those curvy seamlines I wrote about above.
Fabric Used:
Blue leopard print medium/lightweight stretchy knit from Fabric.com, Spandex House, or Spandex World. Sorry, I can't remember. I ordered the black cotton/lycra and black spacer for the bra cups from Spandex House last week. LOVE that place! I ordered at 1:00 p.m. and my package arrives in 24 hours. Amazing service. This is frequently the case too.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I just tweak the pattern I made. Tweaks are always necessary because every fabric behaves differently. Tweaking is done in fabric to get an ideal fit.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Of course I'm going to sew it again! And again, and again. It's a great dress for myself and for my daughters.
Conclusion:
Ha ha ha, Sears Kardashian line and Bebe. I've got your number. I've figured out how to make my own sexy dress, and I can modify it for a slew of different looks. Not only that, my daughters now view me as a sewing genius, instead of those snooty looks I used to get from them in high school when they were RTW snobs. A lot of work went into creating this pattern, but I think it was very much worth it.
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11 Comments
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You did a fabulous job drafting this! A knockout dress for sure;)
2/28/13 3:14 PM
Gorgeous
2/28/13 3:26 PM
Awesome job making your own "sexy dress." On my list too! It sounds like a lot of work but worth it to have a well fitting one in your closet for those occasions.
2/28/13 3:40 PM
Great job on this knockoff! I love your dress and the fact that it's self drafted!
2/28/13 4:22 PM
Your version shows that you're never at an age when you can't knock people over with a fab dress. Wow.
2/28/13 7:09 PM
looks great and better than the one from sears. great fit.
2/28/13 7:52 PM
Pretty darn hot stuff there.
2/28/13 7:55 PM
Great job on this dress!
3/1/13 5:27 AM
It looks fantastic on you. You did an amazing job! I love everything about it and this 50yr old would wear this dress with no hesitations ;). :)
3/1/13 7:32 AM
Drop dead gorgeous!
3/8/13 10:29 AM
Fantastic work, very lovely and very inspiring. Great job in every way.
3/10/13 1:23 PM