Made By A Fabricista: Black Summer Maxi Dress

HI Fashionistas!

Hope you are having a lovely summer and staying cool. It is getting pretty warm here. School is out and I am staying busy with summer camp pickups and dropoffs for my older kid. I recently started noticing that a lot of pre-school moms were wearing black lightweight maxi dresses at drop off and they looked so effortless and comfortable. I decided to make my very own easy to sew version up in a lightweight black knit.

I made the dress without a pattern. It was made in under two hours. To cut the bodice of the dress, I used a tank top as a guideline, and to make the skirt, I simply made very small pleats on my sewing machine (freehanded) to mimic the look of gathers. The bodice is self-lined, as the fabric is thin. The skirt is not lined. Its light and airy. I wore this dress to fathers day dinner. Matter of fact, I am wearing it now with a floral scarf for a pop of color.

What I love about this dress is that it's so easy to wear. You really don't have to worry about styling a dress like this. It will go with whatever shoes you are wearing and whatever purse you are wearing!

I am pretty obsessed with these owl earrings lately. Since I don't have a lot of time to spend on myself right now, these statement earrings so a long way. Connor is four months now and this dress is also nursing friendly.

Here is a back and side view:

I left the bottom hem raw for two reasons: The hem on maxi dresses always gets so worn, so I can simply trim it by 1/2 inch when that happens and continue using the dress. I also plan on attaching a ruffle on the hem for a different look when I chop some of the hem off- to add back some length, Then I would wear it with some shoes that have a slight heel. For now, I needed something that I can wear with flat shoes. The fabric does not fray, so skipping the hem worked for me.

I have not been on vacation since 2016 but this hat definitely put me in Vacay mode. I wore it to the pool and to Fathers Day dinner on Sunday.

Let me know if you have been getting some summer sewing in. I want to make a few more knit pieces for the summer. I'll see you next time. Happy sewing until then!

XOXO
-Vatsla from Fashion Behind The Seams

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