Every now and then, you come across a fabric that’s just SO perfect for the season. My mom picked this floral beauty out and insisted I make a maxi dress of sorts. Well…you’re wish is my command!
Pattern & Construction:
This dress is a mashup of Simplicity 1873 (bodice) and McCall’s M7121 (skirt) with some slight alterations to both. For the bodice, I brought the shoulders in to make the straps a little thinner.
The skirt pattern calls for a seam at the front, which I removed. Rather than trim the sides of the skirt to make the waist fit (it’s a big large as it was meant to be an elastic waist), I made pleats at the front and back which lined up with the darts on the bodice. I also left the skirt to hang over night before I stitched it so it could drop. The next day, I laid it out with the pattern and re-trimmed it. I find this method much easier than stitching it all together, letting it drop and THEN trimming it.
Tip: When using such light & flowy material like this, I would suggest using a smaller length stitch. I used length #2 instead of the usual 3 to make sure the darts & bodice sides held together clean and nicely. 
Material:
In all honesty, I’m not too sure what sort of fabric this is but it is so incredibly lightweight and flowy. And at $4/m I couldn’t go wrong! It really is perfect for a summer day. And even better is that it hardly wrinkles! I’ve stuffed this in a bag over night several times and pulled it out basically wrinkle free…now if only I could remember exactly what material this is…womp womp…
Belt:
To make the belt, I put iron-on interfacing on the fabric and wrapped it around some belting I had lying around. To hold it in place, I used iron-on hem tape. And to create the loops for the buckle, I simply made very tiny button holes.
Inside:
I decided not to include a lining under this dress for two reasons:
- I wanted this make to be quick & easy. Adding a lining would have taken longer and I know I would have lost the fun in making this!
- I wanted this dress to feel super lightweight on the body. A lining would have bulked it up and taken away from the weight I was going for.
Final Thoughts:
I cannot even tell you how much I love this dress! I was having a bit of a crappy day but putting this together really turned my mood around! In my opinion, this is such a perfect dress for a summer date night or vacation. I would love to see what you think of my latest make. Leave your thoughts below!
xo!
Sharadha
Photos: Bright Osei-Agyeman
7 Comments
Very nice!
Thank you!
What an absolutely gorgeous dress! Love the fabric and the style! Very inspiring. 😊
Thank you very much! 😀
It’s awesome. You look amazing! And how lucky to have a photographer friend to help take awesome photos!
Beautiful dress and fabric! Where did your mom find this gorgeous fabric?
Hi Andrea! It’s from Fabricland!