The Day Dress from The Avid Seamstress

It’s been two or three years since I sewed my first Day Dress, and just recently when I was trying to decide on what dress I wanted to make to attend the Sewisfaction Big Summer Stitch Up sewing event, I came across this pattern, and thought it was about time that I gave it another go.

I have made several of The Avid Seamstress sewing patterns before, and they are an absolute joy. The instructions are always so beautifully written, any sewing terms are clearly explained and the whole process of sewing one of these patterns is such a great experience.

Because the bodice is quite fitted on this dress, I went for a stretch cotton twill, as I wanted it to fit snugly, but still be wonderfully comfortable at the same time. This Ellie Stretch Twill from Sewisfaction was perfect. I just cannot resist a pretty floral fabric. It looks like it is out of stock now, but if you follow my link, there is the opportunity to join a waitlist to be notified if it comes back into stock. Because of the stretch, I also sized down one size, and this worked out great.

When I tried on my original version, to check the fit, I noticed that the back neckline was gaping a little bit on me – something that I often find – I corrected this with a 1″ adjustment which I marked on the pattern piece before cutting out. I’m not sure what the technical name for this adjustment is (I’m calling it ‘a gaping back neck adjustment’), but basically it means cutting a straight line from the middle of the neckline on the back bodice piece, almost all the way down to the waistline, then cutting along that line and bringing it in and overlapping it at he neckline by the required amount (in my case 1″), and taping it in place. This really works for me. Don’t forget that you will need to cut a new back neckline facing piece now as the original one obviously won’t fit any more. I simply traced my own piece by placing some pattern tracing paper over the newly adjusted back bodice neckline.

Of course pockets are a wonderful part of this dress, and I chose to make them using some silky lining fabric that I had in my stash, just to keep any bulk at bay.

The back of the dress is fastened/unfastened with an invisible zip. Everything lined up wonderfully, and I really like the gentle gathers in the skirt – not too many, not too few! I must admit I gathered the skirt in the usual way, rather than use elastic as per the instructions, and this worked equally well.

The length of the skirt is spot on for me. It just hits the knee, and this is as per the pattern with the hem overlocked and using just the teeniest tiniest hem I possibly could. You might want to think about your skirt length though if you are much taller or shorter than me – I am 5’2″.

I am over the moon with how the dress has turned out. It fits me much better than my original version that I made all that time ago, partly because of that gaping back neck adjustment and partly because I sized down. My love for The Day Dress has returned BIG TIME, I don’t think it will be too long before I make another – I love the look of the version with the buttons down the front.

The finishing touch is this cute new label which I purchased from Pink Coat Club recently. A perfect addition to any handmade garment if you are a kitty Mum like me.

Today’s blog pics were taken in Leicester Botanical Gardens. Such a pretty tucked away treasure, and certainly somewhere we will return to again.

Take care, and I’ll be back again soon,

Kathy x