A Dress for April

Well hello there, blog readers!  It is another month in this sewing challenge of mine, and I have once again finished another dress.  Let me tell ya, I get happier and happier every month with my sewing-self, and it seems I am accumulating many new favorites!  Yet another favorite, if not my most favorite, of the homemade sort, April’s Dress.

I went with a different pattern this time, Simplicity 1803.  It was one of five I bought back in January when Joanne’s was having a 5 for $5 sale.  The material came from fabric.com and it was a bit of a splurge for me since I usually only shop the clearance racks.  Not too bad price wise really, just over $20.00 for the three yards.  I love a good geometric print, even more so when it is some of my favorite colors!

The dress was easy to make.  I had no troubles at all, until it was done that is.  I initially made the armhole openings a bit bigger just because of my last dress, but then once I got it all together realized it was unnecessary.  It was an easy fix to get that taken care of though, so no problems there.  Then, when I was done and trying it on for the third time, I thought it might be worth it to take it in just a bit at the front center bodice seam.  Should be easy, just a little unpicking here, a small stitch up there and… Well, it was easy to do all of this, but I messed up and serged the facing just a bit too short and therefore lost that nice flat, under-stitched look at the front center.  My only option without redoing the front facing was to finish it with a top stitch, which I was initially really happy not to have to do.  Oh, well, it still looks great.  I just need to perfect my perfecting!  (It was fine before I went and messed with it.)

I put in some cap sleeves opposed to my usual no sleeves.  I was nervous because I always seem to dislike the look and feel of most sleeves that I make on dresses.  Not this time, I was very happy with the way they came out.  I found that the instructions for this pattern had better directions for most of the things that I normally have trouble with.  This got me thinking.  I read a few months back how the cheaper patterns are the hardest to work with, and while I wouldn’t exactly call Simplicity patterns high-priced, they usually run just under the $10 range, they do cost more than the $3.00 New Look patterns I have sewn from the most.  (Wal-Mart is my hometown mall after all.)  After this dress though, my conclusion is that Simplicity is a much better pattern brand to work with.  I think I will be skipping the cheap brands and finding the equivalent in something a little more tried and true from here on out, even if it means I have to wait until I get to the big city.  I haven’t noticed too much trouble with New Look skirts though, so I guess I can still get a few of those now and again.

Next up on my sewing agenda, I am planning on a quick skirt.  I finally got the backing for my quilt, and I threw in a few yards from the sale pages to make the shipping free.  Although, my sewing time is gonna now have to be shared with my outside time, and I am not too sure how I feel about that… But if this rain and dreariness or wind continues, I won’t be outside much anyway.

A dress that holds up well in the wind, bonus!  And I promise I really do iron my dresses.  It just never looks like it.

This blog of mine is just all over the place, I know.  From dresses, to photos of insects, and really everything in between!  Funny thing is that my sewing posts get me some of the most feedback, and I love it!  Stay tuned, my next post will be about something completely different, that I am sure…

Thanks for reading, and as always, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Outfit details: Dress – made by me // Shoes – Route 66 // Necklace – made by me

Linking up with: Passion for Fashion, Simple Sequins, Sew and Tell Saturday, Maybe She Made It