One of the last projects that I was able to make for my Paris trip is this easy, breezy linen dress.
I bought this navy & white linen at Fancy Tiger Crafts this past spring when I happened to be in Denver for a work conference. I’ve longed for a rustic, looking linen dress and I bought it with that idea in my head.
I wanted my dress to feel like something Audrey Hepburn would wear in Roman Holiday – simple, chic, and perfect to wear while having an adventure.
The bodice, sleeves, and skirt of my dress all come from different patterns and I created the waistband piece and fit it accordingly. I call this pattern hacking – but Ms. TaniaSews so cheekily reminded me that its your “design” not a hack job.
The bodice is from a 1960’s dress, skirt is from a 1950’s dress, and the sleeves – I can’t remember. They’re my to-go-to sleeve that I always leave out as it’s perfect for my armscye; I believe I modified it from a 1940’s blouse pattern though.
The Rodin museum garden turned out to be a great place for sneaking a few photos of my dress.
I probably could have stood to hem my dress a bit shorter… I know I have a propensity to made my hems longer rather than shorter, but I think it’s the effect of my height. Sometimes when I’m looking in the mirror, the angle is off and it appears that I have more length than I do, resulting in slightly longer hems. #ShortPeopleProblems
The skirt is in between a full circle and a half-circle skirt, perfect for swishing along the boulevards of Paris and Bruges.
I love center, lapped zipper insertions. I nearly do them on all of the dresses I’m able to because I love them so much. I stitch the one side down and then pick-stitch the remaining side by hand.
Now the hem looks fine in these pics – what the hay?? I’m guessing it’s my photographer’s height that is throwing off my own hem angle. Ahh well…
As you can see, the linen takes on a different color depending on the lighting conditions. Sometimes it’s very navy blue and other times it’s more rustic looking.
It was perfect to wear on my travels and it has a spot in my regular wardrobe now for work. It’s a breezy summer dress and now it’s turned into a great transition piece for fall paired with a cardi and brogues. All in all, it’s a simple dress, but I love it so much.
In: Sewing
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