June? I Don't Think So...

When I first modeled this dress for DH, he said, "Golly gee, June. You look swell!", with a giant smirk on his face. June Cleaver? This dress? No, I don't think so.  There's no collar, no apron, and I'm most certainly not wearing my pearls!

Vogue 8810



This is one of the "Easy Options" patterns, with different sleeve and skirt options. I've never been a fan of a button front straight skirt, so I opted for the A-line skirt this time. I used a rayon challis from Mood that I purchased a while back, and the drape was perfect for the flowy-ness of the skirt. I only had 2 yards to work with though, so I had to be very frugal with my fabric, and the pattern called for more. To "make it work", I used a coordinating lining fabric scrap for the center front facing, and pieced the belt.

On the "up" side of things... it was very easy to construct and went together quickly. With the belt cinching up the waist, there are no fussy fitting issues with this dress. That being said...

On the "down" side of things... I thin, there is far too much ease built into the skirt of the dress. I graded down, using a 12 for the bodice and an 8 in the skirt. Seriously. There's still plenty of room in the waist and hips, without adding too much fullness.

This will be a great dress for the warm early months of fall, and I can add my leather boots and a jacket to carry me into the later months.  The shoulder seam is just wide enough to be mistaken for a cap sleeve, too, which is nice.

 

Overall, I'm really happy with this dress. 2 more yards of stash gone! I've decided to join Carolyn and go on a fabric diet for awhile. I've stitched up 6 1/2 yards of stash over the last few weeks (2 sleeveless tops and another dress, nothing really "earth shattering", so no blog posts), and have another 2 yards on the work table now! My plan is to reward myself after every 10 yards sewn, with 2 new yards that I may purchase. With just another month left before I head back to work, we'll see how it goes.  At the start of summer, I had grand plans to sew a new fall wardrobe. We'll see what I can knock out before Labor Day hits...

 

Thank you for the kind comments about my "The Point of Sewing" post and the new puppy. I submitted the story to Threads (at the strong urging of 2 big sisters), so we'll see. As for Murph, he's been with us a week now, and has such a nice disposition. He's grown quite fond of me (the feeling is mutual), and can be found sleeping underfoot when I'm in the kitchen, and behind my chair in the sewing studio.

 

Such a sweet boy!