Recently I went to visit my bestie in LA. I was not only super excited to see her but also to do some fabric shopping! The first fabric I laid eyes on was a super light, navy blue cotton covered in spring flowers. Bestie and I agreed that it totally needed to be a massive sun dress with pockets, of course.
No pattern was necessary for this one. I knew I was going to make the top bit similar to my swing tops but with a v-neck and scoop back. So really I only used my McPattern Swing Top piece to make a general look for the front and back. From there, I added the v shape and sewed my the bust darts. The sides of the Dress was a diagonal line from the bust to the length I needed and wide as the fabric. When I say massive, I mean it!
I added pockets to the dress. I’m obsessed with the pocket pattern for Darling Ranges Dress by Megan Nielsen. They’re huge and I love them so much that I use them on everything.
The v-neck is finished on the inside with a small facing. I crossed my stitches under the v not only to mimic the back but to help hold the facing down. To help it a bit more, I stitched it to the side seams.
I made some simple spaghetti straps extra long to take from the bust, criss-cross in the back and land at the sides of the scoop. I think I made strips about 1 1/2″ wide. I folded that in half long wise and folded the sides in once more to the middle. Top-stitched on the left and right sides. Pretty little straps done.
It took me a few times to get the hem right on this dress. I wanted it to skim the ground. I pinned, tried on, pinned, tried on and eventually got it dead-on.
The dress is super comfortable but there’s a few things stopping me from loving it 100%. The bust darts are too high. I think I made the straps too short and it pulls the front too high. The little facing is so short that it keeps getting caught on top of my bra pushing the facing up a bit. If I lengthen the straps a bit, it would solve these issues. But the length of the dress is so perfect. I’m thinking of shorting the facing a bit more in the front to keep it from catching and just ignore my bad bust darts.
What do you think?
Mac's Crafts 