I feel like I barely get to sew anymore, so when I finally finish something new I’m always very excited. (I’m still working on finishing the last project from my Sewing Retreat. They are white jeans and I had some problems with them that I need to figure out.) This dress was a very opportune discovery. Beth and I have been trading inspirational pics of the same kind of summery dress. It’s always some variation of this:
Mostly I want to make a dress like this so I can be that girl walking through the fields of lavender!
So as we were sharing these pics and wondering if we could find a pattern that would work (I hadn’t found one up till now), I came across a Mimi G post on IG with the exact lines of the dress we had been dreaming of! Not only that, but it was a free pattern download if you sign up for her mailing list! Well, you better believe I did that toot sweet.
I don’t have much affection for pdf patterns, usually. They involve all that printing, taping, and storing. But for this dress that I couldn’t find in an envelope pattern, I was willing to put forth that effort. And it went together so perfectly, with such a great fit, that it was totally worth it.
I sewed an XS, believe it or not, grading out to a S at the waist only. I used this very loosely woven floral linen from my Grandma’s Stash, and lined it with more cream fabric from her stash. I lined everything on this dress because the fabric was so sheer, but I would have anyway because it just feels nicer and keeps the skirt from sticking to my legs if it gets too hot.
Sidenote: I have been lusting after all of the basket and woven bags that I see worn with summery dresses, as impractical as they are to use and inconvenient it is for me to buy another purse, even from the Arc, when I’m trying to pack to move overseas! But then I realized I had this vintage basket purse already from an antique show I had attended, and it gave me just the look I wanted! Someday I’ll be able to take project photos with a variety of background, but here we are in the backyard again.
This fabric is so loosely woven that top-stitching just did not look good on it, so I spend a ton of time hand stitching everything down, from the button placket to the blind hems on both layers to the facing on the bodice. I even blind-hemmed the pockets! It took a long while but I knew I would like it better in the end and it would be worth it, and I was right.
The biggest thing I had trouble with was the placement of the pockets. Mimi doesn’t mark on the skirt where to place them; she just suggests you try it on first and place them wherever feels comfortable for you. That was a little too much freedom for me and I ended up sewing them too far in front and too low. I had the kids take a quick picture before work for the Me Made May challenge on Instagram, but then I thought about those stupid pockets all day and how I really didn’t like where they were. Then I Googled the pattern and saw how so many other people had placed them more to the side and higher up. So after work, I ran home, ripped them off, and placed them centered on the side seams and higher. Now, I love them. So note to self: double-check pocket placement and when in doubt, look at photos of other versions of your pattern.
I also wasn’t so sure I’d like how high-waisted this dress is, but now that it’s done, I think it’s super cute. I may add a waistband to lengthen the bodice a bit on some of my other versions, but I like the way this dress looks as is.
I used these tiny white pearly buttons from my Grandma’s Stash. I love the way they look on the fabric. I put them quite close together because I had enough to use a lot and I didn’t want any gaping between the buttons, which is an issue I have with this dress.
Now that I’ve made one, I really want to make a few more dresses like this in various fabrics!
