Made by a Fabricista: Spring dress sewing

Hello sewers!  

Do you have spring fever as badly as I do?  To break that fever, I try sewing for spring and this make didn't disappoint me.  

I used this lovely fabric from Tori Richard's.  It is a plaid shirting which seems to be sold out but there are other great options here: Shirting fabrics.  Shirtings, especially cotton ones are so wonderful to work with.  I love natural fibers.  

I used a Simplicity pattern for this dress that you can see here: Simplicity 8551.  It was an easy sew.  

Don't be afraid of adding hardware to your makes.  For the placket, I folded it in half, lined up all the edges and then used an awl to punch holes for the grommets.  That way, I knew they would match up perfectly on each side of the bodice.

  

Playing with the plaid was half of the fun!  As you can see, the placket is cut on the bias as well as the lower sleeves and the waist ties.  Since this plaid is so big and uneven, I didn't really worry about matching it.  I don't think that was a mistake.  

This was a fast and fun make.  I hope the weather cooperates soon so I can wear this without leggings and booties!  

Thanks for reading--Sue from Ilove2sew!