Made By A Fabricista: Vibrant Red and Florals for Summer

When I think of summer I think of sunshine, outdoor activities, and cute summer dresses.

Like this one.

Do you love florals for summer as much as I do?  When I saw this floral cotton sateen shirting, I immediately pictured it as a beautiful summer shirtdress.

However, as you can see, the dress I’m wearing is not a shirtdress.

We all know our fabric speaks to us, right?  As soon as I opened the package and saw the beauty of this fabric, well, my original plan was tossed out the window. 

This fabric wanted to be a ruffle hem dress.

I choose to sew New Look 6692.  In my opinion, this dress pattern is one of those designs that can be worn by anyone.  The square neckline is flattering, the puff sleeve is subdued, the gathers aren’t too full, and there are pockets!

When I looked at the cover photo of this pattern, I figured it would be a fairly quick sew. After all, it’s just a dress with a princess seam bodice, puffed sleeve, and a gathered skirt with ruffle.  I was wrong.

If I had looked at the line drawing, I would have discovered the back has multiple rows of elastic.

While that part was not difficult to sew, it was time consuming. I choose to sew casings and insert ¼” elastic, per the pattern instructions.  If you wish, you could certainly use elastic thread in the bobbin of your machine and shir that back section.

I did make a few alterations to the pattern.  I did a 2-1/2” full bust adjustment and added 1-1/2” to the elasticized center back section as I wanted to make sure my bra would not show.

The dress does have an invisible zipper in the left side seam. I found I can get this dress on and off without the zipper, but it’s definitely easier if I use the zipper.

The dress ends mid-calf on the model on the pattern cover.  Well, on me, it is a maxi dress. Which is great, because I planned on adding an additional ruffle to make this a maxi dress. 

I did find I had trouble tying the back tie by myself. First it was too tight. Then it was too loose. Then it was just right! Ah, success! But I looked in the mirrors and the bow looked terrible.  Oh well, I guess I’ll need help with that back tie when I wear this.

Because I didn’t need to add an additional ruffle, I had fabric leftover and sewed myself a pair of wide leg cropped pants.

The pattern is from the April 2016 issue of BurdaStyle magazine, number 106. The pants have a lined yoke, pleats, a side seam invisible zipper, and front pockets!

I like how versatile this fabric was – it was a wonderful choice for my ruffled summer dress, but also a great choice for my cropped pants.

I will be wearing both pieces quite often this summer.

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

SHARON  | @thesharonsews

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