Last month, I'd written an Instagram post saying how I often struggle with prints. And how I love them on other people but not really on myself. Storrs London reached out to me and offered to help me out, by introducing me to their beautiful luxury cotton prints. I picked this one -- Masai - Pink Muli. It's 100% Egyptian Cotton Lawn and the texture is very silky. I prewashed it and it had minimal shrinkage, if any at all.

This printed cotton lawn is so perfect for the tiered style of McCall's 8090. This style of dress calls for a woven fabric that's lightweight and floaty, so this really fit the bill.

The sizing of this pattern runs XS (4-6); S (8-10); M (12-14); L (16-18); XL (20-22). This pattern is designed with an enormous amount of ease. If you're pregnant, get this one! But since I'm not and nor do I want to be mistaken as such, I had to make some adjustments so I wouldn't end up with a tent.

I cut the size small. I used all three tiers and this is the length on my 5'9" frame. I did remove around an inch off the hem to shorten it up a bit. 

 I made a one inch FBA so I'd get a better fit on the bodice. This is what my FBA looks like on pattern piece #3.

I also pulled in the waist for definition. And I'm sure you're thinking, if you pull in the waist, how will you get the dress on? I added a side seam invisible zipper.

The instructions suggested trim. I decided to use various sized rick rack trim.

I love this dress, I wore it last night when it was around 90 degrees. This fabric is so lovely and lightweight that it was just perfect for this summer dress.

I've been a blogger for a long time. I've always wanted to keep the "aesthetic" of my platform purely about sewing and only sewing. I hardly even talk about my own family UNLESS it's sewing-related. I haven't discussed anything political since Barack Obama was elected, because that was just monumental and my ancestors' wildest dream. I had to shout about it from the rafters. The only time I've "acted up" was when a troll needed to be dealt with swiftly. I'm always going to advocate for myself. There's no taking the high road when you're being openly disrespected. You have to let them know... train people how to treat you. I've witnessed a lot of things happening in the 15 years that I've been taking up real estate on this little corner of Al Gore's internet. A lot of unrest... a lot of unfair treatment of disenfranchised folks. And I kept it strictly about sewing, even when I've noticed systemic racism and implicit/unconscious bias within our sewing community, because my sewing has always been my peace.

I love tie-front dresses. Every time I see a pattern with that detail, I'm drawn to it. You can see other garments with tie-front details here.

I was inspired by this style of dress from the fabulous designer Johanna Ortiz. She creates a lot of tie-front styles in bold, audacious prints.

McCall's 8084 really fit the bill. Well... kinda sorta. You know I had to make a few modifications to make it more "me".

I cut the pattern out in a size 14. I knew I would need to add about an inch of length and make a one inch FBA.

So, I'm really into comfortable t-shirt style knit dresses. And this Style Arc Astoria Knit Dress is the perfect elevated t-shirt dress.

I cut the size 14, and lengthened the dress by 3 inches. Lengthening lines are included on the pattern pieces.

Style Arc is known for having pretty scant instructions. But this is a pretty simple dress and they included a diagram showing how the pieces are joined. 

During these uncertain times... am I the only one who is sick of that phrase? I actually laugh every time I say it or type it... I'm needing the most comfortable clothing to leave the house wearing. Since I have to wear a mask and it's getting warmer and warmer here, I need pulled back hair and lightweight comfortable clothes. I know we're still basically quarantining, but I still want to be cute. You feel me?!

This dress is True Bias Rio Ringer T-Shirt Dress. And my fabric is an Ivory and Navy Stripe Knit DTY Brushed Poly Spandex from Fabrics by the Yard.

This is a super easy pattern, with only a couple of pieces. If you've ever sewn a t-shirt, you'd have no problems sewing this. Plus, it's drafted really well and Kelli has created great instructions and sewing tips.

This pattern is drafted for someone 5'5", so I added 3" to the length. I my dress to be well above the knees.

I love the way the instructions suggest attaching the binding to the neck and sleeves. 

I've never done it that way before and it'll be my new way I do it when sewing a knit neckline.

Since the stripes are pretty large and this is a really simple design, the stripes were easy to match.

This pattern is the Sia Dress from Taree Marsh and I absolutely love it. 

I was drawn to this dress because the silhouette reminds me of McCall's 7974. But there are enough differences to justify me making this.

I cut the size 14. Her pattern has quite a bit of ease and I probably could have cut the size 12. She uses 3/8" seam allowances, except for the center back zipper installation which is 5/8"... so I just went back and stitched everything using a 5/8" and pulled the center back in a little more.

The bodice is generously drafted, so I didn't need to do a FBA. But in case you need to make a bust adjustment, she has great instructions for it. 

Her pattern is drafted for a height of 5'8", so I only needed an inch of length and I made my normal swayback adjustment.

The dress has two sleeve options, I chose the one with the sleeve ties and two to lengths. I love the midi. And it has pockets, of course!

The bodice is cut extremely low. It's open to the midriff. I closed mine up several inches so that it would still show some cleavage, but be bra-friendly.

The dress has a faux placket. You can add buttons, but I decided to leave them off. And it also has side slits.

Fabric: White Tencel Twill from Mood Fabrics.com