The inspiration for this dress was from this Myosostis hack on Instagram ~
Inspiration care of @lilly_grace_cabotine
I really wanted several of these for summer. They fit my lifestyle, are comfortable to wear and eat up large amounts of fabric ~ which I'm all about this year! *LOL* I'm annoyed that I just started to sew Myosotis dresses so late in the season because it's everything I want in a summer dress.
A Few Things ~
It was very easy to hack this version of my maxi.
- To make a button front on the front, I halved the front piece and pressed it.
- Then I cut the front in half.
- The button band was made by folding over an inch, pressing down then folding over another inch.
- This was done on both pieces and topstitched down.
Design Changes ~
1. I add piping to this version just like my last few versions.
2. Because I used short sleeves for this one, piping and bias binding was also added to the sleeve hem, as well as, piping to the front opening and the collar.
3. I omitted the piping from the waistline seam. I thought it wouldn't play well with skirt's button band.
4. The skirt is a large rectange - the width of the fabric and a length of 39".
Supply List ~
4 yards of 100% cotton purchased from Zooks Fabric Store in Lancaster, PA
4 yds of piping from the collection by way of Daytona Trimmings
12 1" plastic 4 hole orange buttons from M&J Trimmings
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller
A Few Pictures ~
I really want more Myosotis bodies but with changes/hacks. I think I achieved what I wanted to with this one. It meant thinking through some of the design changes, slow sewing to add piping and careful thinking about how to make the fabric work for this design.
In all honesty, when I tried this dress on during fitting, I wasn't sure it would work. I'm not usually a fan of small prints and haven't had much luck with them. Adding the larger buttons gave the dress front a pop which I think it needed. Oh and since this dress is made from 45" wide cotton, the gathered portion of the skirt is smaller (86" vs. 104") when I use 54" wide fabric.
This dress screams comfortable summer wearing to me and reminds me of a good Carolina Herrara dress...which is definitely my style. I cut out three different Myostis dresses at the same time. So another hacked version is up next!
...as always more later!
Love this dress Carolyn, the color and even the small print (which I don't usually like either!). The only thing missing is an ice cream cone in your hand. You look fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty Summer dress. I love that shade of green and the tiny print, and the orange buttons really pop. It is a great pattern.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you want to make more of these. It is a very pretty dress and I love the prints, so very summery. Looks great and so cool on a hot day.
ReplyDeleteThe color is perfect and while I don't usually gravitate toward smaller prints either, sometimes, they just work!
ReplyDeleteThe buttons pop so nicely.
This is one of my favorite Sewing Fanatic Productions! Everything about it is perfect. And your smile says it all. Perfect for work too.
ReplyDeleteLove the colour, love the style, love the hack! Great work, as usual. You're an inspiration......
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful on you!!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest... I like your dress better than the inspiration dress. Beautiful, comfortable, pretty crisp color lovely. Looking forward to the next ones.
ReplyDeleteGreat color on you! It's great that this dress is working out so well for you!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great. I love the print and the buttons definitely make the front pop.
ReplyDeletewhat a delightful summer dress, it looks so cool, and the color combination looks great on you! I do have a question about how you hacked the pattern... you wrote:
ReplyDelete"- To make a button front on the front, I halved the front piece and pressed it.
- Then I cut the front in half.
- The button band was made by folding over an inch, pressing down then folding over another inch."
as I read that, it seems to me that you cut the pattern for the front in half, and then by folding, ended up with nicely finished front edges for your button area, but also ended up taking at least 4" out of the center front, by the folding. Did you first add in extra at the center front to account for that, or does the pattern have so much ease that removing 4" from the CF is of little consequense
Alison - the pattern has so much ease (especially since I cut it as two rectangles) that removing 4" from the center front only affects how much fabric you have to gather.
DeleteI like this one most of all. It looks fabulous on you. Wish I had time to make a couple for myself. The color is great and cheery.
ReplyDelete