Made By A Fabricista: Sewing the Chalk & Notch Hayes Dress

Hey lovely friends! With summer knocking at the door, I am absolutely ready for breezy dresses at all times. I love linen all year round, but summer is my particular favorite for this fiber. This bright happy color fills me with delight, and it’s so perfect in the sunshine.

For this project, I got all my supplies in one go! I chose this stunning Sea Green linen, lightweight fusible interfacing, ½” elastic, and of course, matching thread. If you haven’t sat down to create your own little sewing kit with all the bits at hand, it’s quite a nice gift to yourself and makes getting started that much easier. I’m all about ease these days.

I sewed the new Chalk & Notch Hayes Dress with the open back cutout, which is View A. The other two options are a closed-back dress and a two piece set. I was a tester for this charming pattern, and I can confirm the two piece set is also gorgeous and really fun to wear. I have looked forward to sewing this version for weeks!

Please laugh with me, I cracked up how much my hair covered the details. This is clearly an up-do-required sort of dress!

I prewashed and dried my linen on low, then gave it the ol’ cursory pressing before cutting. I sewed a size 2 with the A/B bust and I made no alterations. I am 5’4” for reference, and I love where this midi skirt hits my frame.

The is a fully lined bodice and sleeve style, and you can see how beautiful the armscye finish is here, really professional looking. The front V neckline also stands upright so nicely in doubled linen and you can certainly add interfacing there for floppier fabrics.

The A-line skirt is unlined and features great big pockets that are anchored at the waistline and a lovely wide hem facing. I love the weight it adds to the hem, and helps the skirt hang marvelously.

The elasticated waist ties and back cutout are so striking to me! I don’t have anything like this, and that is just a cute surprise in the back, and no worries about bra straps peeking out like I would with a low back style. Party in the back, people, but keep it comfortable.

This linen is particularly soft versus crisp, and I love that. There is absolutely nothing stiff or scratchy about this; this linen is pure pleasure to wear. The color speaks for itself and I know I’ve nailed a project when I immediately look forward to wearing it.

Happy summer sewing!

KATIE | @kak513

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