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I knew when I first started this red, white, and blue collection I wanted to have some fun pops of red. While I have always loved the color, I don’t find myself with much of it in my wardrobe. On top of that, I tend to be a more boring basics kind of gal and often use solid colors. So, when I stumbled upon this cute print at Hobby Lobby I knew it had to be made into something for this collection. What I didn’t know at the time is the fact that I would end up running back to the store two more times for more of this stuff. In the end I have both a jacket and dress, with possible shorts in the works. I guess you could say I have grown to love this fabric more and more and kept finding more things I wanted to make with it. Today I am going to show you how I took two dress patterns and made them one to create my pop of red dress.
Dress Patterns:
The Fabric:
This fabric is 100% cotton so it has some body to it. I originally picked it up for that reason in order to make a jacket with statement sleeves that I will be putting on the blog soon. I made sure to prewash and dry this fabric to help avoid any shrinkage after sewing.
The Plan:
The plan actually started as a peplum top. I wanted to make M7774
Time to turn it into a dress…so you may be wondering why I didn’t just use M7774 for the dress portion? After all, it is a dress pattern. However, I knew it would be very full as a gathered skirt because of the cotton fabric. It does not really have any drape and I worried with the empire waistline, the fullness of the gathers would look like I was expecting my 5th child. What I didn’t realize until I took pictures is that even though I tried to avoid it, I may look pregnant anyhow. I knew the pleats of the Simplicity skirt would be full but in my head it looked different. What’s your take, do I look like I am wearing a maternity dress? And if so, how would you fix it? I have made a belt to try and see how that looks, I suppose I could add a waistband, but let’s be real, I probably wouldn’t go through the trouble. So, I don’t know… I kind of love this dress and am not sure about it at the same time.
For the S1873
Pattern Specifics/Modifications:
On the bodice I tissue fit and decided on a size 8 bodice graded to a 12 waist. The armhole was a bit too tight so I added some height back at the shoulder seam which seemed to help. I wanted the top pretty fitted without a ton of wearing ease. I ended up still taking in the side seam by about another inch so the waist measurements in the pattern must have had more ease built in than I planned for. I didn’t follow the instructions for construction other than the darts because I was trying out Emily Hallman’s tutorial for lining a sleeveless dress. I have to say it worked well and I can’t wait to use it on something with a wider shoulder as this probably wasn’t the easiest one to start with. Speaking of Emily, I am somewhat obsessed with her blog and instagram at the moment. She is the reason I wanted to try sewing in collections and giving some organization to my sewing projects. Her work is truly inspiring and she is an awesome blogger to follow.
Ok, back to this dress. Next, I took the skirt and got really mad at it for a couple days. I pleated this way, I pleated that way, I box pleated, tried my best to follow the instructions pleated and then I just threw all the markings out the window and pleated my own way! I used the pattern envelope picture as my guide and started doing my own thing because like any pocket enthusiast would do…I added side seam pockets. Now, I was working on hiding the seams of the skirt pieces (there are two additional front seams on this pattern), without losing the pockets, all while keeping the width the same as my bodice. It was…frustrating. I am not the most patient seamstress and dang it, I just wanted to wear that thing. But I slowed down and decided on a pleat pattern that worked on all levels. I was feeling extra fabulous when I decided to try out a Hong Kong seam finish. It is far from perfect, but I kind of love it. I also chose to finish the hem using bias tape because four little kids and short short dresses just don’t mix. This dress is still very short for my tastes even with the added length.
And that was that. This is the tale of two dress patterns that became one. As you can see it wasn’t always pretty and I still don’t know if people may throw out baby name ideas upon seeing me in it, but I am going to give it a couple wears to see how it plays out. If you stuck around this long, thanks for reading. You can find my first look in the collection, the Jessica Dress here.
Until next time,
Happy Sewing
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About 18 years ago I decided to teach myself how to sew. Long before blogs and resources available today which meant it was often disastrous. But I never gave up because I loved it so much. Today I love helping others get started on their own sewing journey. You can read more about my family and I