Twinkle Sews - Next Big Thing Dress

I made the 'Next Big Thing Dress' from the book Twinkle Sews by Wenlan Chia. 

It's from her spring 2008 collection.

After finishing the dress, I decided the elasto-waist must go (shortened front waistband by 2 inches to accommodate this change).

Added 2 inches to the hem and left it loose (not bubbled as in pattern).  My cheat for a full bust alteration was to add 1 inch to the length of the bodice.  The little knots in the neckline will not stay centered unless they are tacked down, FYI.
 

Fabric is 'rich green' silk crepe de chine from NYFashionCenterFabrics.com; lining is Ambiance rayon in 'kiwi.'

(before waist elastic was removed)

The author warns against this project if you are a beginner, and I would definitely agree.  The underarm gussets are deceivingly tricky to sew.  The sleeves are cut on the bias and get a bit floppy without stabilization (ask me how I know!).

I really like this book; the styles are cool, the instructions are clear (just words, no illustrations), but I had some challenges:

Sizing:  This is a size 4. Keep in mind, the book's size chart roughly corresponds to the the finished garment measurements, NOT your body measurements. To figure your size, add a couple inches of ease to your body measurements, then select the size based on this number. The only way to know this information is if you read the accompanying paragraphs of text on the page with the size chart, which I did not do ( I chose a size 4, though I should be a 6). Luckily, this is not a very form fitting pattern.

Printing:  The patterns in the book come on a CD in Adobe .pdf and Illustrator formats to print out at home on regular office paper (or at a copy shop on large paper).  The patterns range from 0-16, which is great, but only every other size is included.  If you are a 6, for example, you will need to print out sizes 4 and 8, then overlay them to trace off the right size.  That's a lot of paper (49*2 = 98 pages for this dress alone).

Also, the individual pages have match marks in each corner to aid in assembly after printing.  I, however, could not get the .pdf file to print correctly, so the pages had only one or two corners having match marks.  I even downloaded a free trial of Illustrator to try to get the other file type to print properly to no avail.  I ended up opening the .pdf pages individually in Photoshop, copied and pasted them together, then printed them with a border that I set the dimensions of.  To boot, there is no test square as there is with BurdaStyle printable patterns to make sure you have printed at the correct scale.  I made my own test square in Photoshop before printing.

To sum up, printing the patterns from this book is a real fun-killer.

I really like these other projects from the book though:

 

I like how the projects are styled with other Twinkle by Wenlan pieces (jewelry, scarves, and RTW):

The garments with sleeves all have raglan, dropped shoulders, making them easier to fit and sew than traditional set-in sleeves.  Some of the garments are not suitable for a large bust, like that green/white tank above (the author suggests a tank underneath), but you could take the ideas and details presented and adapt them to a different pattern.

All-in-all, I think this is a great book, especially for fans of Chia's RTW line, Twinkle by Wenlan.  I have tremendous respect for designers that share their designs with home sewers.  Thank you Wenlan!