32 Things
16 Items Sewn
111 Days to Go
I'm halfway done with my 32 Things Project! I'm thinking of creating a tab for it, mostly for myself so it's easier for me to keep up with since I'm such a scatterbrain! Anyway, I have loved, loved this free pattern over on BurdaStyle (drafted and posted for FREE by The Selfish Seamstress herself!!) for about a year now and I finally made it! Super news? It's easy and adorable and FREE; it's simply perfect for the warm days of summer. Even more super news? There was a sew along over at Grosgrain that broke down all of the steps on how to make this dress so you can see the whole process from start to finish!
I didn't participate in the sew along, but it definitely put this dress back on my radar. When I was in L.A. a couple of months ago, I got some adorable black and white seersucker for $1 a yard just so I could make this puppy, and I've got to say (in my humble opinion) seersucker and this dress go together like ramma-lamma-lamma,ka-dingity-ding-di-dong.
The arm holes are a wee tight in the front so I got a little chaffed when I wore it yesterday, but this was my first Burda pattern so I may not have given myself enough seam allowance.
For those of you who have never made a pattern from BurdaStyle.com, there are a couple of things you should know (probably more than that, but this is all I know so it's all I can say -- feel free to add more knowledge in the comments if you have any!!). For one, patterns from the website are printable, which can take a lot of paper, but other than that they're totally rad! Second of all, they have different sizes than the Big 4 (Vogue, Butterick, McCall's, and Simplicity) AND they use the standard bust not the high bust measurement (see HERE for how to measure yourself from my Sewing 101 series). Click HERE for Burda's size chart. Lastly, they do not include seam allowance in their pattern pieces so you have to add it yourself. Grosgrain does a great job explaining all of this in her sew along, so I highly recommend at least reading through it before sewing a Burda pattern if you're nervous about it. I didn't read it beforehand and it turned out fine, but you know me... I like to live ON THE EDGE!
I cut a size 42 for the bust and 40 for the waist and skirt. The bust was just a touch too small and the waist was a wee too big, but overall I think it's fine. I think it'll be an adorable frock when I get preggo, for the first trimester at least. After that, I'll undoubtedly balloon up and not be able to wear anything. I gained 65 pounds with my daughter.
Yes, we're trying, but no success yet. I promise to keep you posted.
And of course I added pockets.
I added a waistband, which Grosgrain does as well, though I think hers looks way better than mine. After finishing mine and looking at hers, I see where I went in a different direction, but I still love my dress -- wonky band and all!
In short, make this dress! Go get a vintage sheet and a zipper and you've pretty much got everything you'll need. My dress cost $3.00 to make and I love it!
xoxo,
