Hey look! It's me! I know y'all, I haven't been around much, and the few things I've sewn for me have been boring necessities. But I finally made myself something new and somewhat frivolous! Actually not at all because ITY maxi dresses are my summer uniform, so this will get worn all the time. But I digress - the dress!
This is Simplicity 3678, which I've made before (
here). This is the first time I've tried this style bodice though, and I have to say, I'm pretty thrilled with it. During the maaaaannnnnyyyy years I was nursing my babies, I wore only wrap/surplice bodice dresses for easy nursing access, and I sort of got into a rut. But my last baby weaned 4 years ago, so it's well past time for some variety!
So, let's chat about this bodice. The neckband is shaped and faced. The pattern called for a self-fabric facing with fusible interfacing. Y'all know I'm incapable or following a pattern... I decided to try something out and instead used powernet for my facing pieces. I love how it turned out! The facing is nice and stable, but still stretchy and comfortable. Not to mention lightweight! Definitely going to do this in the future for knit facings.
The back bodice is straighforward, but the pattern uses this back for both bodices, so it was drafted without the neckband. Annoying but minor. I drafted one for it. The skirt back has a bit of gathering, if you've some fluff you'd like to minimize, but not enough to look juvenile or emphasize anything you'd rather not.
For the sleeve, I used the cap sleeve from another view. I like this sleeve a lot. It's double layered, so no hemming. It did require a tiny bit of altering to fit into this armscye, so if you're sleeve swapping with this pattern, be sure to check.
For fit, I added some length to the bodice in order to fake an FBA. Since the bodice is ruched, there is plenty of space horizontally, but I did need a couple of inches of length to cover the girls. I added length throughout the area of gathering and then tapered off around to the back, which didn't require any alterations for me. Obviously I also added significant length to the skirt to make it a maxi. After it was done, I actually went back and forth about the length, even polling the interwebs for length opinions. It was hotly contested! In the end, y'all liked the maxi just a little bit better, and given my maxi bias, that's what I went with. After all, I can always cut it shorter if it makes me crazy!
The final, critical alteration - pockets! Seriously, why else do we sew but to have well fitting clothes with POCKETS! Get with the program, Simplicity and put pocket pieces in your patterns. Seriously though, how hard is that?!
Final verdict? I love it! Maxi dresses are my favorite. I don't know why I questioned it. But maybe I should make another one in a knee length...
