Me Made June Day 3

I made this as a muslin (a "practice dress," if you will) for a dress I made for a friend's wedding. I was originally going to use McCall's 5466, but it's a discontinued pattern and the discounted copy that I picked up at my local Yardage Town was size 12-18, which was just one size too big. I didn't have time to grade it down, so I picked up New Look 6723 instead at my husband's recommendation. I was dubious because it looked so plain, and I've never done a princess bodice before...but it turned out to be such a good recommendation (even if he only suggested it so that we could get out of Jo-Ann's sooner)! The bodice fits perfectly and I already have ideas for modifying it to create different looks. Pattern review here.

The Facts

Fabric: A thrifted cotton/polyester blend bedsheet, and bleached cotton muslin for the lining.

Notions: Invisible zipper, thread

Cost: Linens were on sale at the AmVets store for 50% off, so I think the zipper was more expensive than the fabric! I probably spent about $5 total.

Time to complete: About seven hours, but that's because I am an abysmally slow fabric cutter (it's my least favorite part about sewing) and I needed two sets of everything for the lining. It actually went together pretty fast. The other time consuming part was waiting for my iron to heat up.

First worn: June 3, 2011.

Where'd you go today in this outfit? Walnut and I had a photoshoot with our friend Cindy of Orange Turtle Photography. It was Walnut's second time ever outside and he was so nervous he shed all over my dress! Thank goodness for lint rollers, because that evening I went to a chamber music concert where I got to watch one of my favorite students perform a cello solo.

Good things about this outfit: It's so perfectly summery and cheerful, and the skirt is swishy enough to feel dressed up, without being so excessively full so as to be impractical. It's also pretty covered up, so I don't need to use up a whole bottle of sunscreen.

Things that weren't so good: The bodice is a little ripply since I had some issues attaching the skirt portion to the double layer of fashion fabric+lining.

Would you wear this outfit again? Yes! It's a great summer outfit that doesn't involve thinking about coordination. That's what I love about dresses -- no confusion about matching tops and bottoms!