Myosotis Dress Summer Version in cotton poplin

Whew - here it is, our August heatwave. About 105º F now as I write this at 5pm. We've been a bit fortunate, considering our drought and fire danger that we haven't had many blazing heat waves this summer but it does always seem to occur just as school starts again. (Don't get me started on that topic, I know the school schedule is quite different than when I was in elementary school but it was nice back them to have all of August to enjoy summer). 

A few years ago I taught a dress class at Hello Stitch and so used this pattern, at that time I made an example plus a version for myself. I alway thought about revisiting this pattern as I wear my original version a lot - like a lot! It's such an easy dress to wear, ideal for a warm day. I got this pink fabric at a sewing guild sale (more on that later). Here's a link to that first version. 

If you are familiar with this pattern you can see it has quite a few differences. That's the beauty of making your own clothes - you can change any detail you like.

I was so happy with the changes that I made on my first version that I repeated them exactly here. The changes are these:

• Omitted the collar
• Lowered the neckline
• Skipped the sleeves and finished armholes with bias binding
• Pleated the skirt instead of gathers
• added a small waist tie in the back

I thought about adding a small ruffle at the hem, around 3 or 4 inches but decided it didn't go with the pleated skirt and also this dress might be just a little too saccharine with a ruffle added to that bright pink. 

I really love this fabric and it has been in my stash now about two years so I'm glad to finally be wearing it. 

A few sewing details. I am slightly obsessive about keeping my interfacing scraps and neckline facings are a great way to use them up. So I found this piece in my interfacing bin and it was sufficient to use for the back neck facing. Interfacing doesn't need to go all the way to the edge of a facing, I find if it just crosses over the stitching line then it's doing the job. You end up trimming most of those seam allowances away anyway after the facing is attached. Actually looking more closely, it's actually two scraps. On the right is a smaller piece which fit in that area. So use the interfacing scraps instead of throwing them away!

To change the neckline I just drew on a new neck opening. I should have made notes from the previous version but that one I did kind of free form and liked the result, but never went back and marked my pattern pieces. So I compared that blue version to the original pattern pieces and saw that I opened up the neckline by stitching it about 1.5 inches from the original edge. Marked below with a Frixon pen.

Back view. 

So that's the latest in comfortable cotton summer dresses for a very hot spell here in N. California. Which we are pretty much used to but it does wear you out after a few days. I do feel bad for everyone in places like London or other cities which are not used to the heat, and have no air conditioning. Which I rarely use but it's nice to have! 

Up next, I have all kinds of scribbles in my notebook for a long overdue Random Threads post. I usually make a dress specifically for my birthday which is nearing but I don't think I will this year - after the cutback in socializing due to the pandemic I have plenty of dresses that haven't received much wear. Maybe I will change course and make a birthday jacket.

Speaking of jackets, I went to Britex with my friend Heather recently so you can expect to see some beautiful and luxurious fabrics turned into a coat and a jacket in the coming months. I will be teaching my online blazer class via Hello Stitch starting in October, here's the link to register.

At the top of this blog I have added a page entitled Sewing Class Schedule, which I will keep updated with links to all classes I am teaching here in the bay area and online. 

My garden remodel project is almost finished, the front just needs a few touches and I'm waiting for some plants I ordered from Annie's Annuals. Which is an amazing plant nursery in Richmond CA that has a great selection including a focus on California natives, cottage garden favorites and beautiful succulents. It's a bit like fabric shopping - so hard to decide and limit myself to just a few. 

Happy Summer Sewing,

Beth

Today's garden photo, in addition to the one above, it's a penstemon called "Bev Jensen" and the flowers are hot pink like my dress. I really like this hardy little plant and I've taken all kinds of cuttings which propagate easily. My kind of plant!