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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Checkered linen early summer dress

I made a cute little dress for this early summer sun/clouds/sun/clouds weather we've been having.  I wanted something fresh and light, but bright summer colors and big florals didn't seem right.  I had some of this checkered linen (can't tell if it's navy or off-black, can't tell if the other color is white or ivory) and turned it into a little frock for late spring.

I even added a bow at the waist--for some extra detail and fun!

I combined a couple of patterns to make it: the midriff panel from this fave, Butterick B4915:
And the bodice top from Butterick B5317 (but instead of darts below the bust, I gathered):
Warning on that pattern above--the fit is off.  I used it for one of my bridesmaid dresses also, and had the same problem but didn't quite recognize it till now: even if you cut out smaller than your size, it is too big.  This can be fixed to some degree by taking in the side seams, but the problem with this pattern is the front is so wide that the straps just get farther and farther apart as you take in the sides.  To make it really fit I would have had to create a center front seam and take out 1/2"-1" or re-cut the front.  Just a warning.  Measure the width you want before you cut, and you may have to move the center front fold over a little when you cut to make it fit!

I wore this little dress to a graduation party for my fiancé over the weekend.  It kind of has a vintage flair, but doesn't speak too loudly... I didn't accessorize it much.  Eh?

13 comments

  1. Hi Suzannah, I absolutely love this dress, and must make it for my daughter. You made it a perfect combo of elements in one dress. It looks perfect for our feels like temp of 106 and awful humidity today.

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  2. Lovely. I am not sure how you have time to work, plan a wedding, and sew other garments. I was thinking you had a back log of posts you were throwing out however, you just wore it on the weekend. You are a sewing machine!

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  3. That dress is so cute & you look great wearing it! I'm sure you got tons of compliments at the graduation party.

    xo katie elizabeth
    ohheyylife.blogspot.com

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  4. Adorable! And adorable on you!

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  5. You are sew smart! (get it ;) )

    Follow my blog at :

    http://lannalsu.blogspot.com/

    and check out my first giveaway! it's coach...

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  7. LOVE this! I wish that I were brave enough to combine patterns. I have a hard enough time getting a dress from just one pattern to fit right!

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  8. This is so adorable! So you!

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  9. Very pretty and love the fabric!

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  10. Anonymous6/16/2011

    I think it is really cute and summery.

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  11. Anonymous6/17/2011

    Cute dress! It reminds me of your grey engagement dress, which I absolutely adore!

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