the no side seam dress...done enough to wear

Here is the dress, more or less complete. I cut the neckline a bit lower. I edged both the neckline and the arm holes with strips of a black stretch cotton pique. Cindy Ann had asked about how I do the bindings. Because this was a stretch fabric I simply cut two strips on the cross grain. One is for the arm holes, the other for the neck.

I fold the strip in half the ling way and serge it to the RS of the dress. I then top stitch the seam allowance. I guess that technically it isn't a binding but it is quick, easy and does the job. this finish lasts through many machine washings.

I began to laboriously un-stitch the striped ruffle, and then I realized that just cutting the whole thing off would be much quicker and easier on both the nerves and my eyes. I sewed a strip of the same black pique to the hem. No, no pleating, just a boring extension. Sometimes, boring is the right choice.

I may fuss with the side waist darts a bit to make them work just a bit better. For those who pointed out, it was amusing to see that The Weekend Designer blog ( check out the link on my blog list) used a similar technique earlier this week. He is much smarter than I am in the pattern drafting department. Actually, let me put it a different way. He is trained ( and good ) at pattern drafting. I am simply stumbling towards the answers.