Flutter Sleeve Cowl Neck Dress

I love estate sales. I get a daily email telling me of the sales in my area. I have to be selective of the ones I choose because it is hard to shop with the little ones. I recently went to a sale for a 90+ year old sewist. Her stash included crochet doilies laces, trims and boxes and boxes of fabric. The laces and crochet doilies were stored inside the house. Unfortunately, the fabrics were stored in cardboard boxes in the garage.

I happily sorted through the items inside the house selecting many wonderful treasures.  I then went outside to look at the fabrics. Because they were stored in cardboard boxes outside, the items on the top and the bottom of the boxes were damaged. The top items looked awful, there was mildew, silverfish and other little creatures. I was grateful that I had taken my allergy medicine that morning and that the middle fabrics were in good shape.

The person hosting the sale was excited to have ANY interest in the boxes so she immediately told me that I could have whatever I wanted for $1 per piece of fabric. It was all I could do, not to do a happy dance in front of her. I did not want to alert her of her folly. I made a show of dusting them off and disregarding what I did not want. All in all, I found some gems. When I was done I had enough fabric to fill my washer on the maximum load, twice! I was very happy and so was the seller. Here is a sampling of what I got.

Laces and trims. Please help me figure out what to do with them.

 

There were some great knits in the mix and I wasn't certain what I was going to make but I was excited to add them to my stash. Since the sale, I've kept my eye out for patterns that required knits that work and discovered this simplicity pattern:

The dress and top in views D, and E, appeal to me. I knew I wanted to combine them to make a dress. I like the flutter sleeves and the pleats at the top of the cowl neckline. This dress was very easy to make and was fast to come together.

Here are my thoughts on the pattern and photos of the finished garment.

Pattern Description: 1716 Misses' Knit Top and Mini Dress.  Misses' knit mini-dress, tunic and top can be made with a front twist or draped neckline with five different sleeve variations to choose from.

Pattern Sizing: 4-20. I made a 10 straight. 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes. I made View E in dress length.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. I liked the instructions on the sleeve insertion.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This was super fast to make. I liked the shoulder pleats and that the depth of the cowl was not too low.

Fabric Used: A knit fabric I got at an estate sale.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  I added six inches to the length of the dress. I am 5'8 and the dress needed the extra length.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes. I really like it.

Conclusion: Nice wardrobe builder.

Simplicity 1716

 

Pleats at the shoulder and flutter sleeve.

I am so so thrilled with my dress! The fabric cost $1 and I bought the pattern on sale for $1. I feel like a million bucks in my $2 dress!

Happy Sewing!

Bianca