Nothin but Blue Skies Ahead
You all know there is no surprise that I love a good textured fabric. This light blue floral embellished fabric from Joann Stores caught my eye immediately so I was happy to have found it. It’s so drool worthy! Wouldn’t you agree? It’s so beautiful! I’m obsessed! What’s even more amazing, this fabric is sold in 4 colors. Unfortunately, this fabric is only sold in stores and there is limited availability, so I would highly recommend that you head to your local Joann’s right away and take a look at the color selection and grab some for your stash/ collection. (I know you have one. LOL!)
My family and I are going on a Spring get-away so I thought that this dress would be the perfect make to throw in my suitcase because it’s a simple dress to throw on yet, I’ll still look fabulously put-together. As you can tell from the silhouette, its pretty simple, but fabric makes a bold statement.
Since it’s a pretty simple style dress, I would highly recommend this for a beginner sewer. You obviously have to know how to sew straight and understand the concept of gathering fabric. Other than that, it’s straight forward from there. There are no button holes or zippers you have to worry about which makes it an easy project. You do have to add lining if using this specific, which isn’t difficult. The pattern instructions demonstrate how to do that. The lining is needed since this fabric is a bit see-through. I’m sure you want to know how it’s done, so lets go!
MATERIALS
Fabric: Spring Specialty Cotton SCS201 Powder Blue 3D Circle Embroid Cotton (Sold in Stores Only)
Lining: Sew Classics Silky Silkessence Fabric -Solid
Tie Straps: Twill Tape
Pattern: McCalls M7742 View D
INSTRUCTIONS
As per the instructions in the pattern, cut all of your required pieces out of your embellished fabric, as well as your lining. I did not cut lining for the sleeves since it was not necessary.
Sew your dress in accordance to the instructions on the pattern. When you go to gather your sleeves and the skirt portion of your dress, I found that gathering with yarn was the way to go. It’s such a simple trick that I’m sure you will love. I filmed a tutorial on how to gather your fabric, so check it out HERE.
In the pattern instructions, when you get to the point of inserting your twill tape into the casing, the easiest way to do that is hem the ends of the twill tape, attach a safety pin to one end and guide it through the casing until it comes out the other end.
Like I mentioned above, this project is fairly simple. I would absolutely love to see what you create with this fabric. If you end up sewing this dress or any other dress, tag me on Instagram so that can share your work to the world. I love being inspired by you just as much as you all love being inspired by me.
