Of course I made a new maxi dress! Maxi’s are my favorite summer uniform. I cut and started this dress in May, but didn’t get to finish it until this week.
I love this dress! The biggest change I made was that I used a knit instead of a woven like the pattern calls for. Because of this change I eliminated the zipper and made the dress a size smaller than I normally would.
I also added an underlining to the the entire bodice and an interlining to the yokes as well as the belt to help support the weight/stretch of the ITY skirt.
I eliminated the facing around the neckline in favor of a narrow turned and stitched seam finish.
I also had to make a minor adjustment to the center front. Much like when I made Simplicity 1804, the neckline of S1801 was way too low cut for my preference.
To solve that issue I took my center front seam up 2.5″. When taking it up, I ended up taking out about 5/8″ more.
Taking it up definitely helped. I am much more comfortable with this neckline.
The best part of this pattern is that it has pockets! I think all dresses I make should now include pockets.
This back view is kinda wonky with all that bulky fabric at the waist. I think I am just standing funny with my hip popped weird.
I ended up using 3 yards of purple and tan sparkly heathered ITY knit from Fabric Mart, $3.00. For the underlining I used half yard of black swimwear lining from Jo-Ann’s, $4.59. Total cost for this new maxi is $7.59. Pretty darn good in my book. Oh and all 3.5 yards of fabric came from my stash. That brings my total stash fabric used this year to 49.25 yards.
You can read my full review on Pattern Review.
Nice stashbusting! I like the denim look of the print.
Thanks you!
Great looking dress! I’m always raising the necklines, too. Great info on interlining the bodice, etc. and sharing what you used to line it with.
Thank you!
Maxi dresses are my summer uniform also. Love the color and the fabric.
Thank you! They really are perfect!
Lovely dress. I always end up needing to raise my necklines on this type of dress, too, if I actually want to be able to bend over without exposing myself.
Thank you! It’s the life of busty girls everywhere! 🙂
Hi, I just love what you did with this pattern–making the sleeveless maxi and using a knit. It really looks great on you. I am inspired to copy you and I was hoping you could clarify a couple things for me. When you went down a size, did you then use the pattern as is, or did you do an FBA? Usually even on knits I like to use my upper bust measurement and do an FBA. Also, what did you do on your interlining and underlining? Did you just double the yoke, bodice, and belt pieces with swimsuit fabric, or did you do triple the pieces on the yoke and belt? Thanks!!
Thanks for the comment! I can totally help you. When I went down I size I did make it as is, because I went by the finished garment measurements to choose my size. I am lucky in that I do not have to do an FBA when using a knit, but it can be done. I only added and underlining to the belt and yoke pieces, but added an interlining to the entire bodice. For the underlining on the belt and yoke I used the same ITY fabric as my shell. For the interlining on the entire bodice, I used the black swimwear lining.
I got it! Thanks so much! I am so excited to give this a shot.
This dress is lovely ! I’ve seen your review on PR. I planned to do it for the summer and already draw a size 14, but I have a doubt regarding the size. I have this pattern in a magazine with Simplicity patterns (Tendance Couture, in french) and there is no finished mesurement for the dress. Please, would you mind to give me the finished mesurement for sizes 10, 12 and 14 ? It would be very kind and helpful for me as the more I see the pattern, the more I find a 14 to big.
Thanks a lot.
Sure! Part of the reason I went with a smaller size is because I choose to use a 4 way stretch knit and the pattern calls for a woven. I knew that there would be extra easy added in to the pattern for that reason. The only finished measurement other than length is for the bust. Size 10 is 36.5″, Size 12 is 38″, and size 14 is 40″. You can also view this info on the Simplicity website since it is on the envelope back. http://www.simplicity.com/p-7500-misses-dresses-cynthia-rowley-collection.aspx#t-1. If I could I would measure the patterns for the waist but my patterns smallest size is a 14 so I can’t get the comparison for the other sizes for you.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you for your help, I will check on the Simplicity website. I don’t know why they don’t put measurement in the magazine.