The black little dress

Ive had this amazing black fabric in my stash for over three years. It rayon and described as a sueded shangtung. I must have pre-washed it about 3-5 times because every time i thought about using it, I couldn’t bear to cut into it. And i tend to pre-wash all like colored fabric together in my stash whenever i need to prewash something, this one got into that rotation a few times. It is buttery, textured, and just have a really nice bounce.

But when i saw a few amazing versions of McCall m7381,  i knew this was the fabric for it. I usually don’t do muslins but i did it for this pattern – I wasn’t going to take any chances with this fabric. I ended up cutting a Xs even though my measurement indicates a S – mostly because they seem to grade the height proportionally to the size as well. I also shortened the bodice piece by about 1 inch and narrowed the shoulders by half an inch on each side, and the fit was perfect!

I love the front tie design – so smartly integrated with the pleats on the shoulder. Also love the curve between top and skirt – i am starting to find those high-low curves to be very flattering for my body.

Of course, there needs to be pockets, which i added in seam. And of course, it was sized for my iPhone.

This dress doesn’t have a zipper, but has elastic through the seams of the back. Pretty comfortable to wear but a pain for me to pull over my head to take off.

The dress is quite versatile – I wore it with heels to the office, and then with flip flop (in the picture) for weekends.

I love this dress  🙂 I literally wore this dress out before it was off the machines (it needed some sergering). ITs great for the late summer and i hope to style it with some black boots for the autumn.

Feeling pretty happy about all the dresses Ive made this summer. Ive been really busy with work this summer, and most nights I take care of the kids, then go work out and then back home and work some more before i get 20, 30 mins to sew before bedtime. Luckily the girls are getting more and more independent, it is pretty easy for me to sneak in a seam here and there when we are at home.

I have used up most of the summer appropriate fabric that i am excited about in my stash. (Let’s be honest, I have a ton of summer appropriate fabric still, but… i am not super excited about them). This makes me feel like summer is really coming to an end! I am holding myself back from buying more summer fabric until next year… time to work through my winter stash!