The Time for Easy Summer Dresses Is Here!

            

I love the ease of wearing dresses during hot summer days. There is nothing to coordinate, just throw on one piece and go. I am particular about my everyday dresses though, they need to be cool, not fussy and interesting. Here are some flashbacks of my favorites. 

Vogue 9112

Simplicity 1080

Vogue 1410

Simplicity 8793

When I saw Simplicity 8640, I loved it instantly! I knew I wanted to add it to my summer wardrobe.

                      

I was uncertain which length I wanted, so I made a muslin which I show later in the post. After making the wearable muslin, I figured out what I liked and made this black chambray version (available at Nature's Fabrics). It is my favorite of the two so, I will show it first.

                                                  

The bodice seam lines are wonderful! They are top-stitched for added definition. The neck and arms are finished with facings rather than bias binding. It gives perfect weight and support and visual interest when top-stitched.

The gathered pockets are adorable! Note, they are positioned lower than standard pockets. If pockets for you are a place to put your hands rather than for phone storage, you may consider raising them.

I enjoy the curves at the sides of this interesting hem.

At the shorter length, there is good coverage in the back.

  

Come on triple degree temps, I am ready!

For my wearable muslin, I went with a blue and white stripe seersucker stripe in the longer length with the added buttons on the pockets.

 

This pattern has the "not suitable for plaids, stripes or one-way design fabrics" prohibition.

The bodice is bias cut so I thought is would be fun to see how it would look with stripes. I have had this fabric in my stash for years. I am sewing through my stash and with a few exceptions, I want to use what I have on hand.  I enjoyed manipulating the fabric to align the stripes the way I wanted.

 I used my walking foot to help keep things together as I sewed. 

It was not a perfect match, but it was not the pattern predicted disaster.  

Hubby thought the gathered pockets conflicted with the lines of the stripes and suggested I change them. As I have said before, hubby rarely takes a critical and assessing eye to what I make. He just sees me and goodness. A great trait for a husband, but bad for useful creative feedback. I was so impressed that he saw that, spoke up and knew how to fit it! He suggested I flip them to the ungathered lining side and it worked.

I think the the length of view A is too long to be flattering on me. I went with it because I thought it would showcase the curve at the side better. On the chambray dress, I decided the shorter was the way to go. Now that this is blogged and you have seen it, I will likely shorten this one too. 

   

Both of these dresses will get lots wear in the next few months. It was fast and easy to make and is super comfy. I like it so much, I see a linen version in my future.

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Another Dottie Angel Frock and a Faux Frock for Little Miss

I really enjoyed my recently made Dottie Angel Frock and decided to make another for myself and another for my "Little Miss".

We had lots of fun in our matching Mother's Day dresses so I decided to make identical dresses this go round. The blue fabrics for these dresses are from the Lisette line and purchased from JoAnn fabrics last Fall. The white on her dress is a cotton sateen and the white on mine is a white cotton with a slight texture. 

I made this dress as directed by the pattern this time. I cut the size small in all pieces and sewed it with French seams. I find I prefer the fit of the first dress that was a result of a cutting error. I think the white contrast  portion of the skirt is too wide. It draws undue attention to my toothpicks.

I also feel there is extra fabric under the bust that makes for a less flattering fit. I cut the ties to the length of the large. This length allows me to tie it around the front for an empire look. These fit differences are not deal breakers by any means. I enjoy both dresses, but like I said, prefer the fit of the xsmall- small size combo. 

 To make the dress for "Little Miss", I used Simplicity 1704 as the base with minor modifications. 

I added ties to the side seams.

And yellow bias trimmed pockets 

6-inch wide square with a tin used to shape the curve.

I enlarged the back neckline by a graduated 1.5 inch slope. This allowed me to omit the zipper.

I trimmed the neck and arms of her dress with bias tape rather than the facings suggested by the pattern. 

We love our dresses! She wants to wear it everyday and wants more! I will likely make others for her, but I may be done with this dress for now.

Happy Sewing,
Bianca

What the frock? Simplicity 1080 Dottie Angel Dress

Hello friends, I am back from my brief blog departure. I took a break to have a medical procedure. All is well now, I am feeling great and ready to get back to sewing. 

You all know I like kind of weird, slightly unusual clothing and fabrics. Not out of this world and avant garde, but just slightly quirky. You can refresh your memories with: my adjustable hem Vogue dress, my Ikea button dress my vogue Cirque dresses and my Twister Mat Raincoat.

While out resale shopping last week, I stumbled across this funky fabric. 

I got four yards for like $3 and couldn't pass it up. The colors were fun the print clearly retro '60's or '70's. It is just slightly ugly and I love it! My ever helpful daughter wondered what I would make and suggested a tablecloth and table runners for Halloween :).  I had something a little more wearable in mind. This Simplicity "granny chic frock" pattern was at the top of my list. Isn't it adorable?

                   

I saw this pattern paired with my fabric to make a nice wearable muslin for future dresses. I quickly got to work finding coordinating fabric. I chose a yellow with white polka dot for the contrast skirt and a small scale orange print for the pocket.

The construction is fairly simple if not slightly different than typical dress construction. 

It calls for bias trim along the pockets. 

Bias trim to finish the neckline and sleeve edges.

It also suggested bias trim along the bodice and contrast seam. I omitted this step and edge finished the seam with a serger. The pattern also called for French seams on the side seams. I chose to omit them and sewed a regular seam. This was a necessity due to error on my part. The sizes for the front pattern are single sized. It was my intention to cut the size small based on my measurements. "Little Miss" came into the sewing room to help and I got distracted. I ended up cutting the extra small for the front and the small for everything else. 

I did not notice this error until it was time to construct. This meant that I needed to make up the fabric loss. To do this, I simply sewed the front to back at the side seams with my serger. I used the distance from the edge of my serger foot to the needle as my seam allowance which resulted in about a 1/4 inch seam that I reinforced on my machine. Given the ease in this dress I don't see it as a major fit problem. As a matter of fact, it fits just right to me.

I like this pattern. I really like the tucks along the bustline to give definition where darts would normally be. In addition, the construction allows you to insert the ties within to tuck and not the side seam.

Tucks and tie. 

I like the wide scoop of the neckline that is not indecent when leaning forward. 

I like this little frock. More than that, I like this pattern. If my fabric choice is not your cup of tea, do not let that dissuade from making this one up. 

I can just see this one with a long sleeved top, tights and boots come Fall. Stay tuned for an upcoming variation in a subtle color scheme.   

Before making this, I polled the Thanks! I Made Them Facebook Page on my fabric and pattern pairing. Some were skeptical others thought it would work. What do you think?

Happy Sewing,

Bianca