Summer Style Blog Tour Day Two: Fun Dresses for Summer

July 13, 2021 • beach • blog tour • cotton • gathered • hack • knit • maxi • new pattern • new release • pdf pattern • pockets • Sewing for Women • Sumemr • summer • Summer Dress • tiered • top • travel • vitage • women • Women's Pattern • womens • woven

Welcome back to our second day of the Summer Style Blog Tour!

Today I get to introduce our brand new pattern, the Summer Dress, to you....but first we have an amazing stop on the tour with Alyssa of the Sewing Goatherd. She has sewn up a hacked version of the Journey Dress that is giving all the Coastal Nantucket vibes with its casual elegance and blue and white stripes. I just love it! Head on over to her blog to read about how she did it and see all the photos!

All right - now on to our brand new release, the Summer Dress!

All right, so let's start with the basic pattern. In some ways this is you basic summer knit dress&top with an elastic stabilized waist and a slightly gathered skirt. You know, that kind of dress that always fits, always looks cute, and effortlessly shifts from the beach to dinner out. These kinds of patterns are my favorite in the summer, because you only have to pull one thing out of your closet and you immediately look like you tried - without actually having to try.

BUT, this isn't just your basic simple summer dress, because there is something special in the back! The back features two options of a cross over style and a cute arched opening. The opening is designed to cover the average regular bra, and shows enough skin to be a bit daring but not so much that you can't wear this to church - and yes, I've worn this to church!

Add in Regular & Butterfly Sleeves and Sleeveless options and you've got quite a lot of options on your hands. Plus, no dress is complete without pockets - of course.

Pick your length of Maxi, Above Knee, or Top and you're quickly going to see why I have 4 of these in my closet already with more on the way. Today you just get to see the first three - you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see number four.

One of the things that is important with any pattern is picking the right fabric for it. I will admit that my favorite fabircs for this pattern are single and double brushed poly. The stretch, recovery, and drape are just perfect. Now I have also made versions in Jersey, Rayon Spandex (light and mid weight), and Faux Lace Jersey Knit - so I've played with different fabrics and will tell you a bit about them here.

This is my favorite - single brushed poly stripe from Boho Fabrics. Now sadly I got this fabric back in 2020 and it doesn't look like there is more in the shop, but I'll be buying more brushed poly for more of these dresses for sure. I love that this dress doesn't wrinkle, that the fabric is light enough for summer but hangs with a very flattering drape - not clingy at all. This fabric was easy to sew and has the right 4 way stretch to fit perfectly over all my curves while its good recovery makes sure the garment doesn't stretch out as it is worn. Plus I love the stripes <3 My only regret is that since i was do this as an initial muslin, I didn't add pockets...ooops.

This version I made in a Rayon Spandex blend...this is a nice midweight fabric with great drape and decent recovery. I love the drape of this for a Maxi. I will say that I had to take this version in slightly in the back because with he weight of the skirt it just wanted to grow slightly as it was worn through the day. This amazing fabric was totally worth little tweaks to make it work! (I don't remember exactly where I picked up this fabric as it was a few years back - I'm pretty sure it was Joann Fabrics.)

This third version is made of a Jersey knit from Boho Fabrics with good horizontal stretch and very little vertical stretch. I lined the bodice becasue I wanted to do the fully lined neckline, but it was probably a bit overkill with this stable fabric. I noticed that this version wants to creep up just a smidge as I move throughout the day becasue of its lack of vertical stretch to go over the boobs. It isn't annoying and its perfectly wearable, but I might add a smidge of length to the center front if I do another that doesn't have vertical stretch.

So that is just a small introduction to the Summer Dress. You can get this pattern at our special release price of just $5.95 (reg $9.95) for a short time only. Don't miss out on this great summer staple!!!

Now at least one of these is going in my suitcase as a part of my 'get away' capsule....but where on earth will I be wearing these clothes....make sure to join us on FB to follow along with the clues and enter to win prizes all week long.

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