Hi everyone, we are so excited to have you here for day 4 of the Summer Style Blog Tour!
We've got Alyssa of the Sewing Goat Herd here to share her take on the Boho Breeze with you. I just love the boho vibe this is giving, but you'll have to head on over to her blog to read all about her inspiration and find out how she created this look.
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Next up, I'm sharing my hack of the Collared Shirt Dress. I love all the floral maxi dresses that I have been seeing for the last few years. Specifically the ones in light woven fabrics that are loose and flowy but still have a defined waist.
I knew that the Collared Shirt Dress would be a great starting point to recreate my inspiration. I had recently bought a gorgeous floral crepe rayon from Boho Fabrics, it is such a light weight fabric that is soft to the touch and drapes beautifully, I knew it was going to be the perfect fabric for this creation. The Collared Shirt Dress has a slightly oversized grade that is then cinched in with an elastic waist.....but I didn't want the elastic waist. So I subbed out a sash - luckily the pattern already has sash measurements and instructions. Woot woot - I made the sash, cut it in half, and attached it into the side seams of the bodice. (Make sure you subtract the length from the bodice that becomes the casing for the elastic otherwise your bodice will hang really long - don't ask me how I know, HA!)
You will notice that all of my inspiration photos have V necks - and since I'm on a bit of a time crunch before 'unexpected adventure' arrives - I was very happy to nix the collar and opt for a classic V neck with facing. I left the back neckline alone and just drew on a new front neckline to the depth I wanted. I then made a facing 2.5 inches wide to match the new neckline.
I also eliminated the front placket.....remember - time crunch! I knew that any precision sewing was going to end up with me in tears, so I decided to throw it all out the window and simplify. I simply went with a front center seam on the bodice - you could also cut the center front on the fold. Just make sure you have muslined this pattern before and know that you can slip it on and off without a placket opening before going this route!
The Maxi skirt was the easiest part. I used the Maxi skirt dimensions from the new Summer Dress. I was able to get the skirt in the width of fabric so I took my one seam and placed it in the center front so that I could have a front slit for easy walking, and to match my inspiration.
The flutter sleeve also comes from the new Summer Dress Pattern. You have to be careful translating a knit pattern piece to a woven garment, but luckily this is such a big flowy sleeve it was pretty much a direct replacement!
So there you go, a feminine summer silhouette that fits my 'casual elegance' style to a T. Fingers crossed this dress sightsees as well as I think it is going to!