A salty start to spring

So the whole buttonless shirt dress for my birthday didn't really work out. It's not so much that I dislike the pattern, besides the fact that I had to add seam allowances. It was mostly just a lot of bad choices that compounded into one dissatisfying dress.

The questionable fabric I bought from the red tag section of Joann probably wasn't the best choice. It seemed to have some stretch to it, which just didn't seem to work for this dress. I don't know why it puckers at the center front seams, but it makes me want to light myself on fire every time I look at it.

Thent I forgot to add seam allowance to one side of the front piece because I thought I was supposed to cut it on the fold. I tried to compensate for this by adding a continuous placket instead of just following the directions and folding in the edges twice to make front placket. The results were just okay. And then I put the belt loops about 3 inches lower than where I wanted, and had to take out about 4 inches on each side on the hips.

Also, what the hell was I thinking? This was definitely not a "Hey I'm turning 24 let's go bar-hopping" kind of dress. It's more of a "Hey, cover me up with a cardigan and do some office work" frock.

On a happier note, I made a Sewaholic Saltspring Dress and I am absolutely in love with it! I cut a straight size 12 and love love love Sewaholic's sizing. I usually have to grade out two sizes to fit my hips into my garments, but not today. Damn you, hourglass shape! Needless so say I will be making up a lot more Sewaholic patterns.

The fabric is a wonderfully drapey rayon challis from Hancock Fabrics. The flowers are just the right size and I'm in love with the colors. This was your typical "I just need a zipper OMG LOOK AT THAT PRINT" impulse buy. Wait, is there any other kind of purchase in a fabric store?

I decided to forego the back zip at the last minute. Mostly because I got lazy but also because I ended up not needing it. Double win! I think I used up all my ambition putting pockets into the dress and just couldn't be bothered inserting a zip. I usually skip pockets with wovens because serging all those round edges gives me heartburn. In the end it wasn't that bad and I'm really pleased that I added them. They're so cute!

I think that when I make this again I'll do two straps on each side, or maybe go with thicker straps. I just feel like I'm putting all my eggs in one basket with those thin little straps. 

This dress is a big success for me, and I can definitely see myself wearing it a lot this spring/summer. It's super flattering a I'm in love with my fabric choice.  I may have to wear some spandex underneath on windy days (read: everyday in SD) because this dress is definitely breezy!

I have a lot of tops that I need to make because I may or may not have signed up for Me Made May. I'll probably do a separate post for that though. I have a lot of things to talk/freak out about!