Category: summer dresses

Vogue 8997

I LOVE this dress! It’s feminine without being frilly or fussy. It’s also surprisingly easy to make. This is one of those patterns that I bought because I really liked the style, but then put off actually making. I thought it would be far more complicated than it was. 



I used a linen blend fabric (washable) that I’ve had for a while and a solid purple lining. The only change I made to the pattern was to raise the neckline about 2″. After making the muslin, I decided that that would be a more comfortable neckline for me personally. Originally, the front and back neck are (I believe) about the same depth.


This is not only a great summer dress pattern, but has enough variations (including long sleeves) that it can be made all year.


Until next time…  Happy sewing!

Hot Patterns Montpellier Dress – Really is Fast and Fabulous!

This is one of those patterns that I knew I wanted the minute I saw it.

 
It’s just one of those easy, breezy simple to wear in the summer dresses. So I made this from a linen-like fabric in navy blue. 
 

 
There were a few alterations I made in order to get to this point. I did make a muslin of the dress and basically worked in stages so that I could see the effects of each change I made.
 
First, I shortened it by 3″. I knew it would need to be shortened just from the picture on the envelope. The muslin cut my leg off at a weird (unflattering) spot, so 3″ off to start. 
 
Then it was VERY full so I needed to reduce the fullness, but keep the shape of the dress. So, I marked the waist on the muslin, then added a dart in the front (you really can’t tell with the dark, solid fabric) that extends from the waist to the hem.




I reshaped the curve a little about 1/2″ to reduce it in the back. Since the back has a seam anyway, that was easy to sew the “new” seam. The front I actually did cut on the fold and added the dart as mentioned above. 
 
The only thing I had actual trouble with was the in-seam pocket. I really wasn’t getting the instructions, so I did it the way I knew how. I cut off the facing and reshaped the pocket to get it done.
 
While all of this sounds like a lot, it took a few hours to work out the adjustments. Actual construction was pretty fast (about 4 hours). This dress is perfect for a linen blend or some other breezy type of fabric. It’ll be great for summer weather.
 

That’s all for now. On to the next project…