This is out-of-print Vogue 1158, by Tracy Reese. It's a really cute summer dress that I've had since it was released 6 years ago. For years, I've pulled this dress out with the intention of making it and I always ended up putting it back. The problem was that I never found fabric that I loved that would truly compliment the design and also, devoting time in the summer for such a detailed garment. It looks pretty simple from the picture, but there's a lot going on there. 

First thing first, I had to find the right fabric. During the last days of Hancock Fabrics, I ran across this stripe cotton/linen blend. I instantly liked the earthtone palette and I knew it would challenge my sewing prowess to match these unbalanced stripes on the bias.

I cut the size 14. Like I said previously, I bought this pattern years ago. So today, I could've cut a size 12, so it started out a little big in the bodice. But I still needed to add an inch of length.

I also added 2 inches to the skirt's length.

The first part I laid out was the skirt. The skirt was pretty tricky because of the unbalanced stripes and that it's cut on the bias.  If you're new at matching stripes, I would suggest starting out with balanced stripes (stripes that repeat in the same order in each direction). And unbalanced stripes do not.

Matching stripes at the seam can often be frustrating. It's not difficult, but it is something that you need to think about -- especially before you buy and cut into your fabric. Whenever you have to print-match, I highly recommend buying extra yardage (1/2 yard extra should be enough) so that you can easily match the prints at the seams. And always, always cut each pattern piece on a single layer.

For this particular design where the skirt is cut on the bias, the objective is to create mitered stripes at each seam.  This is done by cutting the pattern pieces in mirror image panels. I did this by finding a matching point -- a point in the print where I will use to cut each piece.  I used the grainline marking on the pattern piece to align it. As with any pattern when your are cutting the pieces on a single layer, cut the first piece right side up and the second piece right side down.

I made the same marking on the back pattern skirt piece so that the stripes would match even at the side seams.  As much as you may want to, you can't cheat with this -- especially if your stripes are unbalanced (and the same goes for asymmetrical plaids). Just take your time and the design will be worth it! And major tip: Use your walking foot to prevent the fabric from shifting while sewing.

The bodice is both pleated front and back. And so are the lining pieces. Oh... did I mention that this dress is fully lined? See... big time involved. I used a very lightweight white muslin fabric. Okay, back to the bodice... The bodice front and back is sewn to the the bodice lining pieces. And even though it's lined, all of the seams are French seamed. If anywhere on this garment you'd want to cheat, I would suggest skipping the French seamed bodice. I feel those seams could easily have been been pinked and pressed open. They will NEVER be seen... like ever! The neckline and the armholes are finished with bias cut binding.

And one of the cool aspects of this dress is the armhole insets. When you first sew this, the armholes look suspiciously low. Like scandalously, boob-peekingly low. So this is a great style-saving detail.

Here is the bias bound back.

The dress also has covered shoulder pads made from cotton batting. And an invisible side zipper.

The full lining.

Here are the narrow hems...

And the French tack.

The dress has an attached belt.

It too is bias bound.

Now that the dress is made, looking back I think I would probably leave the belt off. I'd like to keep my options open for different belts.

For a casual summer dress, this was a lot of work. But it was like sewing course in high-end dressmaking. And I really did enjoy the process.

And this one will be a summer favorite!

I've been embellishing garments with eyelets for a while now, and I thought it would look really cool and interesting to play with larger sizes. And while we're here, are eyelets and grommets the same thing? I had to do research and this is the article that I found.

So basically, I guess you can say that the two terms can be use interchangeably depending on what they're being used for.

I was inspired by the Ellery Utopian V-Neck Dress. For my version, I needed to make some adjustments to the style to make it work for me.

My starting point for this look was Simplicity 8094, view C.  I cut the size 12. 

I changed the neckline into a v-neck. I kept it low enough to have some nice décolletage, but without the possible nip-slippage plunging neckline. 

Here is how I finished the neckline with seam binding.

On the original dress, the sides are completely open exposing lots of side-boobage with laces holding the sides together. I'm not a prude by any means, nor am I uncomfortable with the condition of my 45 year old body. I work HARD maintaining. But since this is just something I wanted to wear and not for a special sexy-night-out occasion, I needed for mine to be "bra-friendly", so I stitched the sides right below the horizontal bust darts.

With that adjustment, I only needed to add two sets of eyelets on each side.

My fabric is a white ponte knit.  I also used 1/2" wide single fold bias tape.  My grommets are from Joanns.  These were extremely quick and easy because there were no special tools needed or hammering.

And also, this View C of Simplicity 8094 is long! So if you're not as tall as me, you may want to take that into consideration. It measures approximately 56" from the base of the neck. I wore the tunic over my New Look 6459.

I made this little tunic dress for Mikaela so that she would have cute little dresses to take back to school with her this fall. It's so short and so cute and the perfect length for long-legged sassy 19 year old (her birthday is Friday!).

This dress was inspired by the BCBG Max Azria Tonya Lace-Up Tunic Dress.

I used New Look 6803, View D.

I cut the smallest size and it was fine right out of the envelope.  The only changes I made was the addition of the large eyelets and the ties.

It's so amazing how the eyelets can give the garment an entirely different look.

Such a perfect minimal look. Only thing needed is earrings and strappy sandals!

While I was browsing the designer spring/summer collections online, I discovered these fabulous stripe dresses from Dolce and Gabbana.

source: Net-A-Porter.com

I loved all of the elements of the dresses and the striped fabric and I decided that I could make this look work for my everyday life.  And I knew the perfect pattern I would use to execute my look.

I picked Butterick 6351 and found this fabulous Italian Multicolor Striped Cotton-Lycra Sateen fabric from Mood Fabric.com because crisp stripes are the perfect way to add drama to a summer wardrobe.

I cut the size 14 in the C cup. I added an inch to the length of the bodice for both front and back.  I also pivoted the horizontal underarm dart around to a vertical waist dart. There was nothing wrong with the fit of the bodice. I changed it simply for aesthetics. I wanted my stripes to match as closely as possible at all seams.

So I felt that dart move worked out best for me. I tweaked the fit somewhat. I typically cut slightly larger and just make nips and tucks wherever needed. I took in the sides a bit to refine the bodice fit.

For the skirt, I cut the same size and added an inch to the length.  As you see this time, I strategically placed the stripes vertically. Such a slimming effect.

I added the band to the skirt and flipped it back to horizontal.  And the dress has an elastic waistband in the back of the skirt.

The stripes were pretty simple to match because it is a large enough scale pattern.

The dress is partially lined at the bodice. I used a white cotton batiste from my stash. The dress has a side invisible zipper. 

The only thing I don’t really like is the elastic back waistband. I don’t understand the point of that if it has a zipper. If I make this again, I’ll eliminate the elastic waistband and waist gathers and change the skirt portion and use a simple pencil skirt with darts and a waistband.

When I tried the dress on, I didn’t like how the back of the bodice didn’t lay right. It kept falling open, exposing my bra and it just overall looked sloppy.

I just ended up slipping stitching it down.

Even with the changes I made, it didn’t take a lot of time to make this dress and the fabric was incredible to work with.