I want to squeeze in a couple more summer makes before the season is officially over. I know fall is coming in fast but I have a few more things to share from my summer sewing adventures! This is one of my favourite projects EVER! I love the fabric, the fit, and the overall look. I used our March Dress pattern for this one and I made some small tweaks. Let’s get into it!
First of all, can we talk about this fabric!? When this hit the online shelves at Blackbird Fabrics I scrambled to place an order because OH MY GOODNESS what a gorgeous print. I love everything about it! The colours, the plants, the way things are placed in little squares and rectangles. It is truly a dream fabric for me!
This is a cotton voile so it is nice and airy and a little transparent. I got 4 meters of it because I knew it would be see-through and therefore work best with gathers. March is really great for this because it has a center front and back facing on the bodice that also offers some extra coverage! I did not line this dress and I don’t feel exposed at all. The gathered fabric is enough to conceal the transparency. I also knew the floaty, poofy sleeves and other details would all work really well in this light voile.
For the pattern, I made my usual size of the March Dress (18) with a few modifications:
Modification #1: I added a gathered tier to the hem of the dress. I have done this before on this March Dress, and I did the same thing but I made the tier a bit longer (12” / 30.5 cm finished). You will need extra fabric for this! It is easy to calculate based on your desired tier length, and don’t forget to add some for your hem depth.
Modification #2: I sewed the front and back facing on the inside of the dress. March has this facing exposed as a fun design detail in the pattern. It creates cool lines on the front and back. I noticed when I laid the facing on top of the bodice that the print looked really busy and confusing and was clashing too much. The design lines were getting totally lost. On top of that, this voile is white-ish on the wrong side, so that would show at the top when the V-neck drapes open. By putting the facing on the inside, I solved that problem and the busy print on the fabric can really shine. To do this mod, you just need to be careful to put your interfacing on the wrong side of the front neck area in step 2 and sew the facing and bodice with right sides together in step 7.
Modification #3: I decided to add a built-in way to cinch the waist of this March Dress. You can wear March with a tie or belt, but I wanted the ability to optionally have a defined waist anytime. To achieve this, I added a drawstring channel to the front and back of the bodice. If you have sewn our Lazo Jumpsuit, the process is very similar. I then made drawstrings to go through the front and back and hang at the sides of the dress. You don’t even see them because of the busy print! I can tie these two drawstrings in a bow on both sides of the dress to cinch it. See below for instructions.
How to add the Drawstring Waist
Measure the hem of your front bodice. Reduce that measurement by 4” (10.1 cm). Cut two fabric strips, each your measurement x 2” (5 cm).
Press the short ends of each strip in towards the wrong side ¼” (0.6 cm) two times. Topstitch in place. Press one of the long edges towards the wrong side 3/8” (1 cm).
After step 17, when the front and back panels are sewn onto the bodice, pin and sew the drawstring casing to the bodice front and back. Edgestitch along the folded edge and baste along the raw edge.
Make two long drawstring pieces and feed them through the casing when the dress is complete. I made mine 60” (154.4 cm) long and I cut my strips 1 ¾” (4.5 cm) wide.
I absolutely love how this dress turned out! It makes me so happy when I wear it and I always get compliments on it. I think this print really just takes it to a whole new level. I don’t know how much I’ll wear this dress over the winter time, but maybe it would be a good one to wear around the house to boost my mood! I know I’ll be thrilled to have it when next spring/summer rolls around.
It is the perfect farmers market / flower garden dress! Here’s an extra shot of me and Sam together at our local farmers market! He is wearing his favourite Tofino Top.
