part 2 of a summer wardrobe

Thanks for all the great comments on my new summer clothes! I’ve been getting quite a lot of use out of them recently – though each time I wear a new piece to the beach, someone asks if it’s something I’ve made. I suppose that means it looks homemade… though I think I’ll pretend that it must just mean that they saw it here on the blog!

So while I had the Socialite pattern out, I also made a second out of one of my favorite prints from Heather Ross’s new line –

I love those roses on the gray background! And I love making this dress because it fits perfectly, each and every time!

Something that doesn’t fit quite as nicely is this new shirt made out of gorgeous Little Folks voile –

This is based off of Simplicity 2593. I kind of guessed at the size, and then ignored most of the directions, so I’m fairly certain that it’s not put together correctly. I added to the length and added a casing for some 3/8″ elastic at the bottom hem. I like that part a lot, so I might have to make some modifications and try something similar again.

Next up was another Anna Maria Horner pattern… the Evening Empire Dress. I kept it simple and just used the solid voile in river rock and followed the pattern for Option A. I loved making this dress because I followed all the steps (though I made thinner straps) and ended up making something that looks pretty professional. I feel like I also learned some new dressmaking skills in the process.

I forgot that I needed extra fabric for the lining though, so I ended up having to buy another piece so I could finish it up. The solid brown voile wasn’t available, so I went with a patterned voile instead, and I actually think it’s kind of a fun surprise.

If I made it again, I’d need to modify the top portion a bit. It doesn’t fit as closely as I’d like under the arms, and now that it’s all complete, I’m not sure how I can fix it. I guess I’ll just have to keep my arms by my sides so no one can take a peek down my dress!

And lastly, another dress…

I probably shouldn’t be counting this as ‘new’ summer clothes, since this is one I made last summer. I finally finished it this summer though, so now I can actually wear it!

No pattern on this one – I made it up as I went along, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. So happy that I’m thinking about trying to make another… (if only I could remember exactly how I made it!)

Thanks for taking a look at my new summer wardrobe!

(and thanks again to my sister for being the perfect model!)