Ohwee! The intense heat encouraged me to put on my new maxi-dress. At first, I was only going to take a few pictures in it; then put it away for my vacation. NOT! Too HOT! Fall is literally around the corner, but typical Illinois September weather today it is in the 90's with 90% humidity, tomorrow it is in the 60's. I stepped outside my door and it felt like I stepped into a spa sauna. My face went flesh before I could walk on the driveway.
That being said, it's clear that this dress is very appropriate for today's steamy temps. I used Butterick 6451 for my lovely dress. At least I think so.
The dress is described as: very loose-fitting pullover dress has elastic at neckline, and/hem variations. A, B: Elastic at waist. My favorite view is view B the one that I made. It was super easy and only took a few hours to make. It's certainly a summertime wardrobe piece. The dress is comfortable and effortless to wear. I chose to wear mine with a wide belt partly to help define my waist and to break up the print of the dress.
The sizing comes in groupings (XS, S, M) (L, XL, XXL) I purchased the second grouping. It was the only size left. Normally I would have purchased the first size. On the website the size groupings are different than what is actually printed on the pattern envelope. Using the large, I just scaled it down a little. Remarkably, not my usual adjustments to fit it. The neckline and the back were my fit concerns to which I made very little change. I cut the elastic for the neck and waist just a little smaller. My other changes were to use self bias tape for the armhole facing and the casing for the waist elastic. This was really easy to do with a bias tape maker and a few stripes of fabric cut of the bias to fit those areas.
My dress does look like the one pictured on the model. Cute..,
Likes:
- Flounce neckline with option to pull it around the shoulders.
- Floaty affects of the challis fabric
- Comfort of wearing the dress.
- My change to use self bias tape for the facing and casing.
Dislike:
- Instructed use of stiff packaged bias tape. The application areas look better with self bias tape.
My fabric was purchased at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, rayon challis print.
I see a few more of these dresses in my future. The next time I make it, I'll bring the armhole up a little bit (1"). This is a dress, I think, all level sewists can make with no problems.
Parting Shot: Me starting to sweat after only a few minutes in the sun.
Happy Sewing!
C
