Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: A Pretty Dress Perfect for Spring Time

Image
By

Hi Guys!  Not sure where you currently are in the world, but I hope spring has finally sprung wherever you are.  It’s time to tackle that spring sewing list and make all the pretty dresses you can.  I figured I would jump right in and start on my spring sewing with this adorable dress I made.

I decided I would start off with Simplicity 9329.  What is there not to love about this dress?!  I mean, if you don’t like a dramatic sleeve, then I guess this dress isn’t for you.  I love a good dramatic sleeve, so this dress was right up my alley.   Besides the dramatic sleeves, there are two length options and you can choose to add the back tie or not.  Almost forgot to mention that the back is open and it also has pockets.  

I have a few confessions to make.  Originally I made a size 18 and the bodice fit well but the waist was a little tight so I made a size 20 instead.  What I really should have done was grade the pattern at the waist for a better fit.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to do that with princess seams so I didn’t.  Don’t be me. Lol I still love this dress.  What I love the most is how the dress comes together and all the little details.  Here are some photos of the sleeve.  I have never made a garment with pleats and elastic in the sleeve.  It’s just so good!! I also love the binding on the sleeve hem. 



Now let’s get into this fabric!  I was intentionally looking for fabric for this pattern and I came across this.  It’s called Royal Brown/White 100% Cotton Large Single Border Overlapping Dots Print Sateen and it’s still available.  This fabric is a stretch sateen and has just a little sheen to it.  Are you ready for another confession?  The fabric placement wasn’t really what I was going for.  What I really had in mind was to make the entire dress in polka dots and have the solid brown at the bottom of the skirt hem or vice versa.  That didn’t really work out because of the print layout and the direction of the grain.  I’m still in love with my dress although it didn’t really come out how I envisioned it.

I say all of this to say that sometimes things don’t go as planned, but that’s alright.  Just keep moving forward and either try again or just love what you make and the outcome. Lol  I may make this dress again in the future out of a solid color and I might grade the waist size this time.  The back of this dress is open in a V shape and I would close that up next time.  This pattern comes together very easily and there is also a tutorial for it online. If this is your style then I would definitely give it a try.  Also, if it’s not your style, you can always modify the patter to your liking.  This is why we sew, right?

Until next time,

JOHANNA | @soveryjo 





Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: COTTON & SATEEN.

Comments

  1. vino2000April 4, 2022 at 10:31 AM

    It's beautifull AND you look elegante un It. I hace a secret todo. O love this fábrica since the first Time I saw It. On friday I bought It. I want to make a pant with the brown border only AND a blouse with dots. Perhaps when the fábric arrives I Will have to make some changes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So Very JoApril 4, 2022 at 4:31 PM

      That's awesome! You must have purchased the rest of the fabric because when I wrote the blog post, it was still available. It's gone now. Hope you enjoy it! YEs, you might have t change your idea based on the grainline. Good luck!

      Delete
    2. vino2000April 10, 2022 at 4:56 PM

      Thanks.

      Delete
  2. vino2000April 4, 2022 at 10:35 AM

    Excuse me. Muy corrector Is un spanish, Maybe my
    comment was difficult to understand

    ReplyDelete
  3. KDApril 4, 2022 at 2:18 PM

    I love brown and white for a warm weather dress! A front wrap, gathered sleeves, and full pleats make this a very pretty style. The solid brown with the brown dots is an eye-vatching combination. You look very pretty in this dress!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownApril 5, 2022 at 10:43 AM

    I think you did a very good job of overcoming the challenges of the pattern and the single border print of the fabric. Even though you didn't plan to make it this way, it looks great on you. Nice job !

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made by a Fabricista: What to Make with Silk Taffeta

By
You may have noticed that Fabric Mart has a *HUGE* selection of silk taffeta right now.  A lot of it is either large plaid or large stripes.   I was curious about it, and not really sure what I could make with it, but I just knew it would be gorgeous fabric and had to play around with it.  Turns out, it's actually great for quite a range of projects!  The dress above is my third project. Let me show you the first two. My first was to make some queen size pillow shams.  They are the plaid ones in the back of the photo.  I also made the two printed ones in the center from another Fabric Mart home dec fabric special!  I wanted to make the covers removable with a zipper, and include a braided trim.  As luck would have it, I found a whole card of braided trim at an estate sale that worked with my taffeta for just $2! To start, I used a zipper foot to stitch down the braided trim all around one side of the pillow. Then I serged ...
8 comments
Continue Reading »

Help Our Buyers Shop!

By
  Comment on this post with what you are looking for right now and our buyers will seek it out!  I am craving wool gabardines and ponte knits in fun autumn colors. What about you?
129 comments
Continue Reading »

A Yard And Change

By
Do you have a fabric that you love and has been hanging around but is too small to use? Maybe you found a wonderful fabric with a super cute print but there's only a yard left.  I've got a few projects I worked on all with roughly a yard of fabric. And I have a few tips for making that yard and change go further! Cutting Layout: You can get a lot more mileage out of a yard of fabric if you can get creative with how you lay out your fabric. Cutting things single layer will give you the most control. My favorite thing to do is unfold the fabric and fold the selvages in to meet in the middle. That gives me two folded edges to work with. I had to overlap these to get enough width for the tank top. Just make sure that your pattern pieces don't also overlap!  This one was especially fun for me because I really loved the print on this swimwear knit but am not yet up to sewing swimwear. But a nice flowy hiking tank is perfect for this! In the future I'd love to experiment with...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Sewing Vintage for Summer

By
Hello sewing friends!  I was highly motivated to try another one of the vintage Polynesian Pattern dresses I’ve collected during our hot weather. The patterns are all dramatic and fashionable and really apropos for summer styling. This one is number 204, the Pilialoha Dress.  The gown includes a wide boatneck that many of them feature, plus a very beautiful back gathering and wraparound closure. I always find that the special details on the back are such a chic surprise compared to the simple front.  I chose a lemon covered cotton lawn . I am really delighted with the quality of this cotton, it’s luxuriously soft and smooth. The scale of the lemons and blossoms are just right and not overwhelming, and the soft yellow background is beautiful. This could not be more charming and summery!  I also chose some excellent lightweight interfacing for my facings, and the real highlight is these Dritz Floral Sew-On Snaps that I’ve had my eye on for months! Finally, the perfect ...
3 comments
Continue Reading »