Little Green Dress

Years ago on another blog in another time, I used to post a lot of the things that I sew. I used to post a lot in general because I had a lot of alone time. I also used to sew more due to said alone time. Now I use my sparse alone time (although I've been told that football season is starting which translates into sewing time for me!) to actually DO projects instead of just talking about things on the internet all day. I wish I could devote as much time to sewing as I used to, and maybe once we build shelving and organize the office I'll be better set up to do some quick projects. For now, I do what I can when I can.

But I recently made a dress and every time I've worn it I've gotten a compliment from a stranger. Nothing feels better than having someone come up to you and say, "I love your dress! Where did you get it?" and being able to say, "I made it." Of course, this probably annoys the people who complimented you, but why is it suddenly about the feelings of strangers??

I started with this pattern:

It's weird in that there's no View A, B, C, etc. Just a lot of random pieces that you can mix and match to make a dress. This is the fourth time I've used it, and each time I try something different with the skirt. I really love the bodice, but I've never liked the shape of the skirt. It hits right under the bust and is supposed to just have one big pleat in the front and one big pleat in the back. I don't mind it so much in the front, but it is really just too much material in the back. I've tried just gathering it, multiple pleats, darts, and now on this one I did little pintucks that I stitched down in the middle. I'm still not happy with it. I think next time I'll just draft out the excess and cut an A-line skirt. And maybe add in-seam pockets because every dress is better with pockets.

 It's pretty comfy. Since it was a quilting cotton that I picked up at Walmart, I flat-lined it with some navy crepe to give it a better weight. The cap sleeves from the pattern weren't really working for me, so I added loops at the shoulders to gather them up. That turned out to be my favorite part of the dress!

Next up I think I'm going to do a couple of knit projects, and I really want to make a peplum top while they're still in. Looking forward to more sewing as the garden is winding down.