Midi Dress With Puff Sleeves And Front Tie

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Hi there, today's post is about a new dress I sewed last month. It's a midi-style dress with puff sleeves and a front tie. I made this dress to wear to a special dinner. For the pattern: I lengthened my selfdrafted v-neck dress into midi length. And for the fabric, I used a linen blend in green color. I bought the fabric in Bangkok during my summer holiday in August. The dress pattern had 6 pieces, front and back darts and I fused the facings with fusible interfacing. As usual, the sewing process was relaxing and it finished faster than I planned. The picture below shows the process of sewing the zipper, I pinned it before sewing it using the zipper foot. To make the puff sleeves, I gathered the sleeves before pinning and sewing them to the armhole.  After attaching the sleeves, I sewed the sleeve allowance 1 cm and the hem allowance 1.5 cm. And then, I pinned the neckline before top-stitching it. I decided
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Button Down Retro Dress

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Hello,
The weather is getting better here in Macau, which is a good sign that spring is coming :)
I like spring, I miss wearing a dress with cardigan over it, wearing sandals or open shoes and paint my toe nails :)

I want to say goodbye to wool/heavy fabrics and starting to sew lighter garments.
I already started to put away wool and heavy fabrics and took out lighter fabrics from stash. Also, I starting draw some flat sketches and looking for the right patterns for them. I will show you in the next post...

Well, I found a half sewn dress in the middle of pulling out the fabrics from stash and I remember that I supposed to sew this dress in November last year. I was planning to wear this dress on my mini vacation in Bangkok but somehow I couldn't finish it.
Then I decided to continue sewing it. It was missing sew the armholes opening, sew the button holes and buttons and hem the dress. So, in my calculation the dress will be ready in two days - which is the deadline of Share In Style 2nd March

And here is my new retro dress that I wear with cream color cardigan.


Pattern :
I used BurdaStyle Button Down Retro Dress 09/2014 size 34 with adjustment on the waist and hip areas. I also raised the front V-neck 2 cm, omitted the pockets and shorten the dress right on my knee

source from BurdaStyle
Materials:
2 yards of printed rayon, 8 wooden buttons and thread

The sewing process is quite fun. I prepared the pattern including the alteration and then cut the fabric, both for the main dress and bodice lining - in this case I used same fabric for the lining.
The two most tricky part to sew this dress was the button holes and the narrow hemline. For the button holes, I used machine button holes and to sew the narrow hemming I followed this tutorial from Gertie's - watch the video here

After all, I like my new dress. I like a retro dress which I feel like a little lady and with the bonus that I can wear in both spring and summer seasons :)
Here are the dress pictures and I hope you can see the detail of the princess seams, V neck style, button down and narrow hemming.





And more picture of the dress on me without cardigan, front and back views


I think is enough for my today post, feel free to pop over Share In Style and I am sure you will have fun in fashion and sewing :)

Happy sewing and see you soon on my striped top!

Comments

  1. Margaret DallospedaleMarch 3, 2015 at 6:51 PM

    Love this dress!!!
    Kiss,
    Maggie D.
    Fashion Blog Maggie Dallospedale fashion diary

    ReplyDelete
  2. LisaMarch 3, 2015 at 9:17 PM

    Such a cute dress! What great fabric and the wooden buttons are the perfect finishing touch. I am ready for Spring too.... for all the same reasons you mentioned!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 4, 2015 at 10:40 AM

      Thank you, Lisa. I saw your latest post about quilting process and I love your fabric choices :)

      Delete
  3. The Winter~QueenMarch 4, 2015 at 3:05 AM

    What a cute little dress! And very nice narrow hemming too :) xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 4, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      Thank you, Dawn. Narrow hemming is a little bit tricky but Gertie's video is really help :)

      Delete
  4. Sarah LizMarch 4, 2015 at 4:28 AM

    It's a lovely feeling to have a new dress for Spring - this looks lovely and will be so wearable for everyday jobs and you will feel lovely as well. I agree, Spring is so much nicer for attending to all those nice little jobs like painting toe nails. And clothes are lighter to wear - one feels so weighed down by winter weight clothes. I'm glad I don't live in a really cold climate :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 4, 2015 at 11:09 AM

      You are right Sarah Liz, I do really have a lovely feeling after trying my new dress :) I feel so springy and fresh.
      Me too, I am glad I don't live in a really cold climate. And speaking about the weather, the temperature is falling down this morning, cold is back and I take the opportunity to wear my plaid jacket :)

      Delete
  5. SewingadictaMarch 4, 2015 at 5:42 AM

    I'm so glad you decided to get rid of winter garments, that dress is wonderful, even if it's still miserably cold ... we will unite our thoughts to dream of spring !! Love, love your dress, dear friend !! Thanks for being part of this fun family Share in Style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 4, 2015 at 11:33 AM

      Hi Rosy, we have a short winter this year. So, I don't want to waste time to sew heavy winter garment. But I am still sewing some more long sleeves top to wear in between winter and spring. One of them almost finish.
      Same as everyone in blogosphere, I dream a lot about spring during winter time :)
      Thank you for such a nice comment and I am glad to be part of Share In Style. All the participants are so lovely and I think I need some days to check them all :)

      Delete
  6. MargoMarch 4, 2015 at 10:38 AM

    I am longing for spring and summer as well Hana! Your dress is a great transitional piece and is so cute. I love the little elephants on it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 4, 2015 at 11:38 AM

      We are in the same mood, Margo :) I know that you still have a cold weather, stay warm and keep dreaming about spring/summer. Can not wait to see all the summer garments that you sewn :)
      Thank you for lovely words, I love those little elephants too :)

      Delete
  7. KathySMarch 4, 2015 at 4:00 PM

    Such a lovely dress, Hana, fresh and bright and pretty. There is a lot of retro/vintage sewing going on at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 5, 2015 at 11:44 PM

      Thank you, Kathy. I like to sew a vintage dress from time to time :)

      Delete
  8. ANA MARIAMarch 4, 2015 at 7:10 PM

    It's a beautiful dress. I like the elephants print so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 5, 2015 at 11:44 PM

      Thank you, Ana Maria. They are very cute :)

      Delete
  9. SewingfunthingsMarch 5, 2015 at 1:48 AM

    It's great that you finished this beautiful dress. I love the fabric and style. Also, I like that you used different colored buttons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 5, 2015 at 11:45 PM

      Thank you, Dorothy. Glad that I have those buttons inside stash box, otherwise I have to run to buttons shop :)

      Delete
  10. Sew Blessed Maw [Judy]March 5, 2015 at 9:59 AM

    This dress is beautiful..Looks so pretty on you, and fits great..

    Proud you finished it..

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ivana SplitMarch 5, 2015 at 8:29 PM

    I'm in love with this retro dress...the elephant print is so cute...and you sure look wonderful wearing it!!!!

    http://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Margaret DallospedaleMarch 6, 2015 at 2:09 AM

    Hello sweetie!
    Waiting for your next post!
    Kisses,
    Maggie D.
    Fashion Blog Maggie Dallospedale fashion diary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 6, 2015 at 9:47 AM

      Hi, I have three projects on my sewing table. Hope to finish them before weekend :)

      Delete
  13. UnknownMarch 6, 2015 at 8:31 AM

    I love the fabric and it makes a wonderfully special dress. Excellent choices.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hana March 6, 2015 at 9:48 AM

      Thank you, Annie. Can not wait to see your finished dress :)

      Delete

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