Butterfly dress

Hello! Its been a while since I’ve last updated. The blog update had been slow lately, but my sewing has not stopped. I am about 10 garments behind! Its just so darn hard to get out there for a decent photoshoot with two kids.

This dress is a pretty recent make and I’ve been wearing it a lot. I have a yellow silk-cotton blend dress in the same shape from goodwill that Ive worn to death (about 4-5 rips I’ve repaired, i think the fabric is about to die completely). So I wanted to make up a pattern that would capture the same cut.

This is my second attempt on my drafted pattern,which is actually based on Mccal 3571. I simply extended the 6-gore top to a 6-gore dress, with aggressive flaring at the waist (my first attempt didnt have enough flare). At first, the neckline felt too big – but I decided to go with it anyways. After washing it shrunk down to the perfect size. But with my next attempt I may make the neckline more fitted.

I made the back pretty high – which is atypical of my recent dress makes. I realized a higher back actually makes me look taller from the back. Also, I used a tutorial similar to this for the zipper insertion. I cant believe I’ve never done this before – its absolutely the best way I’ve inserted a not invisible zipper! (It wont work for invisible zippers).

The flare from waist really helps hiding my pooch. I still have a pooch >_< it is much harder getting back in shape with the second pregnancy. I did get comments from my friends on how flattering this dress looks on me!

When I first finished this dress, I was :meh: about it. It felt… plain and uninteresting. But after wearing it out once, I was in love!! the fabric is very light, and it would catch wind and sway in the most romantic way (without expose too much… i think). It really makes me feel like a butterfly fluttering in the wind. Sometimes, its more about how the dress makes you feel than how it looks, right? 🙂