Polka dots and bows

I bought this really cute fabric not that long ago that I have been wanting to make into a dress.  I fell in love with the polka dots and the bows.  It's so cute!

I made this dress by making my own pattern.  I traced an existing dress that I had in my closet that I liked the shape of.

(Although I used the same pattern pieces for lining and main fabrics, I made the sheer fabric about 3 inches longer so that it would be slightly longer than the lining.)

Since this has an elastic waistband I thought it would be perfect for this material because it doesn't have much stretch (and the lining has even less).  This style was a little easier to work with because I didn't need to make it an exact fit.

The dress I traced didn't have a lining because the material wasn't sheer.  I added a lining to mine because it was.

I did things a little different than would normally be done, but I liked how simple it made to finish the arm holes and neckline.

I cut out the two lining pieces and the two main pieces.

Next, I hemmed the lining.

I then placed the lining piece (right side up) and the lining piece (hemmed edge down) and sewed around the whole thing EXCEPT for the bottom.

I turned the pieces right side out.  This created a nice edge with no frays.

I did this for both the front and back pieces.  I then sewed the shoulders together.

I finished the arm wholes and neckline by doing topstitching all the way around.

Then I placed the right sides together, sewed up the sides and hemmed the sheer fabric.

For the elastic waist band I sewed some wide bias tape on the inside of the dress through both layers of fabric and then added the elastic cord through and tied it together.

The best part was.... it worked!!

(I'm always shocked when it does!  It's SO exciting)

I will definitely be using this pattern again.  A very simple dress pattern that could be changed so easily.

I wore it out for dinner the next night with some strappy sandals and a long necklace.

Happy sewing!
~Becca

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