Maxi Dress

Last January I made my first maxi-dress by extending my t-shirt pattern into a dress. That dress has had a reasonable amount of wear through the hot weather so I'd been keeping an eye out for some suitable fabric to make another one.

I found this rayon jersey in Spotlight recently and knew I'd found my fabric. The last version I was always tugging up the bodice as the arm holes were too low, so I added about 1.5" to the bottom of the armholes this time around to solve this problem.

I spent quite some time cutting out the pieces, and think I've done quite a good job of matching the stripes down the side seams:

I added some 1" strips of red jersey to finish the neckline and armholes; pressing them in half, stitching down the inside first with a zigzag and then folding it over and zigzagging along the edge of the outside.



I'm still not completely convinced about how flattering this dress is, but it's comfyness redeems most misgivings.

Pattern: Self drafted maxi dress (inspired by Mission Maxi)
Fabric: Rayon Jersey from Spotlight, some scraps of red jersey
Notions: Just thread!

See also: Creative Pursuits, Lazy Stitching,  Ada Spragg, Notes from a mad housewife

Also, as the selvege of the fabric professed to be a leopard print (I know, it confused me too), I guess this could be a sneaky entry for Jungle January.

Jungle January - Zebra Inspired Maxi

You guys, I have broken my maxi-dress virginity! And I think I might be converted...

Anyway, to make this maxi I used my knit t-shirt block to draft one. I took the block, changed the armholes to have a slight racer back, changed the neckline slightly, and then extended the sideseams to get a dress that was the width of the fabric. I added a bit extra ease from the waist down so that I would have a nice amount of ease through the hips, and just kept that line going.

The fabric is a funky stripe that I picked up in the Clegs boxing day sale a bit over a year ago. The way the stripe has been knitted has given it this uneven look, which I really like. I finished the neck and armholes off with some leftover black jersey, and easy done! A new dress!

Hurrah! On hot summer days at home, expect me to be wearing either this or my Portrait Dress!