Summer Dresses To Beat The Heat

I have been focused on making some summer dresses over the past month in particular. It has been very hot here and for a couple of weeks, our air conditioner was broken. So I was spending my days in a very warm (hot) house. So here are some summer dresses to beat the heat. These use a variety of new patterns and older patterns. My hope is that it will inspire you to make your own and stay cool for the rest of the summer!

The Dresses

One thing I have noticed is that when it’s hot, I like a looser fit. I like simpler style lines and fewer details. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you feel the same.

BurdaStyle madras plaid dress front — BurdaStyle 6912

This dress Is one I made last year, but it has certainly gotten a lot of wear this summer. This was one of my Minerva makes for Minerva Fabrics. The pattern includes some style options, but this is a cool and comfortable dress.

Another one of my summer dresses to beat the heat is made with McCall’s 6885. Funny that this one is also a Minerva make.

The fabric is lightweight cotton (fantastic for summer). It also washes and dries easily so it’s easy to care for as well. Shirt dress styles are fun summer (or anytime) wear.

This particular pattern is almost like a shift dress/shirtdress combo!

Last is one of my most recent makes. I used McCall’s 7742 to make this blue chambray pull-on dress.

This fabric is lightweight and perfect for this type of style. It is cool and comfortable to wear.

As you can see from the back photo, the dress also features in-seam pockets. I am a person that loves to have pockets in dresses. If a pattern doesn’t have them included, they can certainly be added on most patterns. I have done this many times!

The Fabrics

As far as summertime fabrics are concerned, I personally like these:

linen/linen blends
cotton/cotton blends
quilting cotton
eyelet
seersucker

These are the ones I tend to have in my fabric stash.

Are there go to patterns or fabrics that you reach for more often in the summer? Let me know in the comments. I will also be making some shorts, so it’s not all dresses all the time for me. I you would like to see a previous post I wrote about summer dresses a couple of years ago, you can read that here.

*Some links above are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission if you shop through these links. Thank you!

Pattern Review Of My Summer Dress Using McCall’s 7742

Here is a pattern review of my summer dress using McCall’s 7742. I wanted something that would be easy to sew, cool to wear, and cute! I went through my fabric stash and found this lightweight denim chambray. It was perfect for this dress. The material is soft and cool. It washes and dries well and seems like one of those things that will get softer with time.

For my dress, I made View B. As you can see from the photo above, it’s a shorter dress. I wasn’t completely comfortable with dress that length and I wished I had made it longer from the time I cut it out.

Wearing M7742 before alterations — *Before pic*

As you can see, it’s really not that short. It’s just shorter than most dresses I would wear.

So, I changed the hemline by cutting a 5″ strip from the selvedge edge of the fabric and adding it to the bottom of the dress.

M7742 front with selvedge hem detail — *After hem* *changes*

That way, I have the added length I wanted that really makes it more comfortable for me to wear AND I have an interesting feature at the hemline. I left it raw because that’s actually trendy, and I could hem it later if I chose to.

Styling

But I also styled this is a couple of different ways. Of course, I can wear it as is much like the pattern envelope shows.

I also show it belted. I used a scarf I had that also adds a bit of color to the outfit.

I also decided to do a more beachy look with a beach tote I’ve had for years.

Summer dress using M7742 with beach tote

Additional Pattern Details

There are some sleeve options for the dress. I made View B which is the ruffle edge sleeve. There’s also a longer sleeve (it may be 3/4 sleeve) as well as no ruffle and another type of flutter-type sleeve. This might be cute in an eyelet fabric as a swimsuit coverup.

It’s an easy pattern to make and it’s comfortable to wear. I made mine in a large, but I probably could have gone down to a medium. The pattern is XS-S-M or L-XL. There is no bust measurement on the pattern envelope (and not on the pattern tissue itself). It’s an easy pattern that I think is beginner friendly. You will want to use some type of woven fabric that is soft and lightweight.

Using a pattern I already have and fabric I already had in my stash is in line with my previous blog post .

I recommend this pattern, but you might want to consider how loose it is when choosing you size. That would be my only caveat.

Until next time…

*Some of these links may be affiliate links where I would earn a small amount of commission if you purchase through the link. Thank you!

Creativity During Covid-19 and Social Unrest

These past two weeks in particular have been tough. Like many Black Americans, my heart and soul hurts. I have gone from worrying about family and friends because of the pandemic to worrying about those same people being affected by senseless violence. That last part is always a concern. I have been emotionally exhausted.

I have been cautiously optimistic to see so many people of all races come together to fight injustice, and I can only hope that continues. I have been happy to connect and reconnect with old and new friends. Over the past few days I have felt as though I have renewed my creativity.

For anyone who thinks that I should just “stick to sewing”, I can only say, I wish I could. But as a Black woman in America, I (and my family) deal with these issues on a daily basis. For my mother and her sisters, sewing was a necessity because Black women were not allowed to try on clothes in boutiques. If you bought something that didn’t fit, the store would not take returns from Black customers. So they made their own. Sewing has always been how I express myself. So I’m finally feeling as though I can and should express myself through my craft again. That being said, I want to share with you two of my latest projects.

The first is this dress from Simplicity 8178. When I bought the pattern, it was actually number 0929, but whatever… I bought it for the jumpsuit (which I still haven’t made). But the dress was an easy project to make. I used a lightweight cotton blend that was easy to work with.

It should be a nice addition to my summer wardrobe. I realized that I really haven’t made many dresses lately, so I want to make more this summer.

The next item that I just finished is this Butterick top 6685.

I bought the pattern (twice by accident) for the sleeve options. If you are familiar with this, there are various sleeve and style options for this pattern. If I’m going to buy a pattern, I want there to be other options for me to make it worth my while.

I like the top unbelted as well. I used a leftover piece of chambray fabric I had. Originally, I had used this to make a shirt for my husband. I had enough left over to make View A of this pattern. This is another quick make. I also need to add more solid color tops to my wardrobe, so this worked out perfectly.

One positive thing that sewing during this pandemic has done for me is I have been able to use up some of my fabric stash. But believe me, I still have PLENTY of fabric left! I have also been able and motivated to use some of the hundreds of patterns I already have.

So, I hope you all are well and will continue your own creative adventures.

If you want PEACE, work for JUSTICE.

Pope Paul VI

Thanks for reading…