Simplicity 3503 border print maxi dress

Thanks for all the well wishes for our trip to Tennessee! We had a lovely time, and I got a chance to take some pictures of a new dress in one of the most picturesque places I've ever been.

So. Much. Green. This is the "backyard" at my parents house. They actually live in North Carolina, but close to the Tennessee border, so we got a chance to visit and admire their new home. Seriously. So beautiful.

This photo was taken where we stayed in Johnson City - the Carnegie Hotel.

But about the dress... This project started with this awesome fabric. It is a border printed ITY jersey that I got at Mood. They still have it here. Isn't it fun?

I wanted to make the most of the large motif as well as the borders, which are printed on both selveges of the fabric. In my three yard length, I had two of the large central "swirl", so I decided to place those on the upper skirt.

The pattern is Simplicity 3503, which I made before here. I wear my first version all the time, so I know it's a winner. Alas, this one is OOP, but Simplicity has kindly released 1804, which has a similar feel and fit.

The only problem with using this pattern for a border printed fabric is that the skirt isn't a rectangle. It has a small amount of shaping. I decided to keep the shaping and sacrifice a tiny bit of the border print at the side seams. You can see it in this picture, but it isn't obvious when the dress is worn.

I also used the border print to highlight the wrap bodice, both front and back, as well as on the back ties for continuity. This means that my bodice pieces are all cut on the bias. This worked fine for my knit, as it has stretch in all directions, but it may not work as well for less stretchy knits. Bias in knit fabrics can be a tricky thing.

Since this fabric is a little more weighty than the Qiana I used for my first version, the skirt is a little longer and swishier. It feels very goddess-like, and I love wearing it.