Let's Do it Again

That's make Vogue 9220!  The last time I made this dress was in 2007.  I made "The Ladybug" version first.  However, I no longer wear it to work because I think it's a little too casual.  Instead it's worn to hang out with friends on the weekend.  

My second version of this dress is one of my all time favorite summer dresses.  I used a border print for it and added a tie using the directions from the Fall 2007 issue of Sew Stylish magazine.

Since I'm still in the midst of meetings, I wanted another dress or two.  I was roaming around in my Flickr sets and realized that I hadn't made this dress in awhile.  So after digging through the fabric collection, I found the perfect mid-weight polyester blend in a subdued black print that is perfect for this dress.

Some stats:

Fabric:
2.5 yards of a black polyester blend from FabricMart

Notions:
6 yards of black bias binding

Construction:
*Because I had made this dress before, I didn't need to make any pattern alterations.  This was a lay it down and cut it out dress. 

*I added all of the elements of the dress to this version...short sleeves (which are actually shorter than the ones on The Ladybug Dress), and the necktie.

*Due to the fullness or depth of the neckline, there is no need to add any closure to the dress.  It easily slips over my head.

*As with the other two versions of this dress, it is unlined.

*The only difference in this one vs. the others is that I added black bias binding to the hemline of the dress and the sleeves, to define the fabric's print better.

After inserting the first sleeve, I realized that the shoulder seam is too long.  For this dress, I just cut the excess fabric off and lessened some of the gathers in the sleeve cap to make it work.  I will alter the shoulder seams on the pattern, so that the next version will truely be "lay down, cut out, sew it up!"

One more shot of the dress:

I want to make another dress from this pattern...maybe from one of the more distinctive border prints that I purchased this year...I just hope that I don't wait another three years to sew it up!

...as always, more later!