A Field Full of Daisies

Going through these photos has reminded me how much I love my Butterick 6453 dresses - all three of them!

I just love how easy it is to throw them on and look put together.

I wore my first version all the time last summer, and it is high time I pulled it out again.  

Funny how favorite items change from season to season. 

I have so many lovely summery cotton prints and am tempted to make more of this very silhouette.

Then again, I also have piles of other patterns that I want to get to.  Which do I start with?

For the moment, I am making myself another blouse/skirt combo because I am finding separates to be very convenient wardrobe builders.

We shall see how long that lasts.

And until I decide, I have plenty of Butterick 6453 options to choose from.

Cheerful Daisies

Last year, I decided I needed to try out View B of Butterick 6453.  And I actually managed to make myself a dress from said pattern.  Of course, I didn’t manage to blog about it in a timely fashion, but this warm weather reminded me that I should get through the photos of the finished dress.  (Seems much more appropriate than posting pictures of a wool skirt, right?!)  

As with the full skirted versions in my closet, this was a successful project, and this design continues to be a favorite.  But the main difference is actually one of the best parts, which is just how little fabric the straight skipped version requires!

So I cut into a small amount of cotton I picked up from a fabric swap, expecting this to be a wearable muslin.  Turns out, I really liked the dress.

So I finished edges, and added bra cups to the bodice lining.

And I hate a back slit, so I added a vent instead.

A hook and eye, and a couple of ribbon hangers later, and I had a new dress.

And now that warm weather has returned, you had better believe I will be pulling this dress out to wear!  I may even have to find that black and white cotton gingham that was going to be another version of this very dress.  How many is too many of the same dress in one closet, do you think?!

An Eyelet Maxi Dress

It’s going to be a little unseasonable around these parts for a while.  I am still trying to catch up with the backlog of projects I have been making for the last few months.  Oh, how I wish I could magically choose the best photos without actually going through all of them!!  Or, in the alternative, not look like a complete dork in 90% of said photos.  That would work, too!

I do have to give myself  a bit of a break, though, because even though I feel like I am way behind with this blog, I created some very successful projects this summer.  This dress, just like my first version of Butterick 6453, had quite a few outings while the weather was warm (which is always a good indication of success).

It really doesn't get much more comfortable than a cotton maxi dress.

For the last few years, most of my frocks have hovered around knee length.  I love wearing all of them, but I do miss my longer skirts and dresses.   

The only real issue with the longer length happens at the office when I have to be careful not to roll my office chair over the hem as I sit in front of the computer.  Whoops!

But that is something I can deal with!

I originally thought about making the hemline more of a tea length, but when the width of the fabric allowed for more of a maxi length, I went for it.

And although I initially had other plans for this eyelet fabric, I am very, very happy that I waited until the idea for this outfit came into my mind.  Now I just have to continue that trend, and keep pulling from the stash.  "No new fabric" is going to be my mantra for the foreseeable future.  Any guesses how long that resolution will last?!

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 6453

Bolero:  Made by me, Butterick 6354

Necklace:  Made by me

Shoes:  Vince Camuto "Hallee"

An Eyelet Dress

Here is yet another version of Butterick 6453.  As soon as I made the first version, I knew I wanted to make another.

I had a different plan for this blue eyelet when I purchased it many years ago, but then I decided I wanted to make a full length version of this sundress, and it was one of the first fabrics that came to mind.

Of course, I wanted to underline it with a pretty green color.  I did have a beautiful mint green bemberg rayon in the sewing room, but there was not quite enough.  And since I had a bit of white cotton voile from Dharma Trading on hand, I decided that dying was the way to go.  Because I just love making things more complicated for myself!

The pattern pieces of the bodice were cut out of the voile, and then placed on the wrong side of the eyelet fabric in order to cut that second layer.

A little hand basting and my pieces were ready to go.

The construction of this design is very straight forward, and since I had already made another version, this was a piece of cake.

At this point I was a little concerned that the green underling was not bright enough to show through . . . but I kept going anyway.

Instead of the piping I added to my first dress, I went for an extra wide bias cut piece that was folded and added to the waistline.  My hope was that it would make an interesting design feature (including a little bow at the center back seam).

Unfortunately, there was one really irritating portion of this project.

Namely, turning the straps right side out.  The holes in the eyelet were making it impossible, along with the added bulk of the embroidery.  I tried every technique I could think of before giving up, pressing the raw edges under, and hand stitching into place.

Bulk was also a bit of an issue when it came to gathering up the skirt.  The added embroidery really does make eyelet much more of a heavy weight fabric than you might think!

But I got fought those gathers into submission eventually - although I will admit to being stabbed by multiple pins along the way.

From there out it was smooth sailing.

I used the neckline facing pieces to cut out a layer of muslin to stabilize that area before adding a full bodice lining to the dress.  I had just enough of my green voile to cut out a duplicate bodice!

And, once again, sew in bra cups were added . . .

before hand stitching the lining into place.

From the moment I received this fabric, I knew that I wanted to use a scalloped edge.  Many eyelet laces have been manufactured so that the selvedge is actually finished with the embroidery.  Unfortunately, this one had a very boring and plain edge.  I was hoping it would be possible to remove that!

I tested my idea on a scrap of the fabric, and then went to town on the actual hem.

One of the final steps was adding a small bow to the center back waist seam.  One end of the bow is permanently stitched in place, and the other has a snap so I can get to the center back zipper.

The final bit was stitching the straps to the back bodice.  The original design has a bra-like adjustable feature that I do not like, so I went ahead and changed that.

And so ends the second version of Butterick 6453.  I actually have already made a third (with a straight skirt) because this is such an easy to wear dress - just step in, zip up, and go!

Postcards from Paris

It feels like these photos were taken so very long ago.   And it has been quite a while since the month of May, I suppose.

Since then, this dress has become one of my favorites.  It is so easy to slip into.

I forgot to mention the addition of a pair of lightweight bra cups in my construction post - I imagine I was too impatient to finish the dress to bother taking pictures!  And that extra step is one of the main reasons I keep coming back to this dress on hot summer days.

All I have to do is step in, hook the waist stay, zip up the back, and go!

I am slightly tempted to make another version, this time with a straight skirt.  But there are so many other patterns that I want to try, so perhaps I should set this one aside for now?

After all, I already have another blue eyelet version hanging in my closet.  

Some day I will get around to going through the finished photos of that dress, along with all of the other projects that I completed in the last few months.  And I suppose I should really start thinking about cooler weather fabrics and designs.  The days are already getting way too short!  I am really not ready to say farewell to Summer this year.

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 6453

Shoes:  Remix “Babydoll”