Sunny Day Dress

A while back I posted a photo of an upcoming garment project

I have had it in my mind that I want to try and make more clothing and at the beginning of the summer season I looked through my closet for a fun little sundress to wear during the day and realized that I don't have one. Well, what's a seamstress to do about that? Though it's been a really long time since I've considered myself a seamstress, technically I do have the training. There was one pattern in particular at Cool Cottons that kept catching my eye, the Sunny Day Dress and Skirt by Jamie Christina.

The fabric I chose is a print from Andover, trimmed with just a plain solid white. I was hoping to finish the dress by the time I went on my trip to the east coast in late June, but didn't quite meet that deadline. For the most part the construction went pretty smoothly, though I did have a couple of problems losing track of top/bottom of some of the pattern pieces that were either truly rectangular or (in one case) nearly so. Even with the markings I was unsure if I put the bodice and waistband together properly. The only other problem I had with the pattern/construction is that the trim for the top of the waistband came up short. Not by much, but it did leave unfinished edges on that tiny little flange just before the gathered back.

I also made just a couple of adjustments for size and length as I was putting it together. For one, the pattern definitely errs on the short-waisted side of things, which I am not. But even with that being the case, the measurement for the elastic for the back of the dress was a little long and had to be shortened to stay where it should in order to keep the bodice and waistband hanging correctly. I also made a really tiny hem on the skirt in order to keep the length below my knee.

But I finished it, and FINALLY got up the nerve to wear it to work earlier this week.

We've been having temperatures in the upper 80s and into the 90s here in Portland, but the day I chose to wear the dress was one of the cooler days of the week - perhaps hitting 80°F at the most. Which worked out perfectly so I could be comfortable wearing my little short-sleeved cardigan over it, covering up the amply exposed back this dress offers. I thought I'd be happy to have a fun garment that actually shows a little of my mid-back tattoo, but am thinking not one for work, perhaps. Does this mean I'm getting old??

All in all, I am definitely glad I made the effort to get this finished and was able to wear it at least the once. I'll keep my eye open for more of her patterns as long as I feel I'd be able to alter the bodice length to fit me better. But it is cute, isn't it??