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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!

Another maxi dress--plaid and pretty

So I've been sharing lately how I'm super into maxi skirts and dresses--so comfy and versatile and great for warm weather when you don't want to wear too many heavy layers or anything tight. So I made this navy maxi dress the other week, and have worn it several times and really loved having something ladylike to put on when I'm a little hot and sweaty and lazy! So I've really been wanting to make another!

I'm a little low on big cuts of fabric right now, and you do need more yardage for a long dress than for my usual shorter ones, so I went to my mom's fabric stash. She has an entire bolt of this pink and grey plaid stuff that she got for free when her wholesaler messed up her order, and she doesn't ever plan to use it... I made a sweet sundress out of it last year, actually. But this one's totally different. ;) Free fabric!!

I have several patterns that lend themselves well to maxi dresses, including this one--Simplicity 2587. I made the top view from it once and it was waaaaaay too low-cut, and I could tell the dress would be, too. Didn't look like I'd be able to wear a bra with it, which could be good thing in the summer but not something I'm always comfortable with.

I did cut the bodice front pieces a little wider in the center front and allowed them to overlap a little. When it was done I tried it on, and I actually could wear a plunging bra with it, but then the straps show and all that. No biggie, but also... it's hot, who wants to worry about bra showage?

So I remembered an old trick from my early sewing days, when I was making lots of little summery halter sundresses and prancing around in them in Rainbow flipflops and other trendy 2005 things. I used these in dresses I made as well as a couple Target/American Apparel halter dresses so I didn't have to wear a strapless bra, or worry about showage.

The secret? BOOB PADS!!!

I still had some in one of my notions boxes. Pushup ones, I think! ;) I hand-sewed them into the dress once it was done, tacking them in place to the lining and through the outside layer for strength--in a matching thread color. Bet you can't even tell!

Well, maybe you could tell if you really tried... but hopefully you're not staring at my boobs too much. Maxi dresses FTW!

13 comments

  1. Great job! The dress is fab! I really like that fabric.
    Martina

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  2. Super cute! I love a good maxi dress— this one is Fab!

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  3. Super cute! Maxi dresses are my summer wardrobe staple!

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  4. I really want to make one of these - oh wait - I really want to as a friend with a sewing machine to make me one of these!

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  5. I love the dress! Unfortunately, Maxi dresses are not a good thing for me. I like your dress more than the dress on the cover :). I also want to sew bra pads in my dress, but the fabric is a kind of jersey, yet I'm not sure if that will work. What do you think?

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  6. Perfect summer frock! And pink + grey = best colour combo EVER!

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  7. looks great (I struggle w/ the bra issue)

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  8. So sorry I haven't been commenting (though I have been diligently reading)- for some reason Chrome doesn't load Disqus and I tell myself to switch to Firefox, but then I forget :( Can I sawy, I LOVE BRA PADS on dresses. Whenever I find a dress with a bra pad, I will try it on. I love Maxi Dresses but so many of them suffer from the exact problem you describe, which is showing bra that ruins the look of the dress. I still have summer dresses from more than 5 years ago that I treasure because of their bra pad addition. The dress looks great all over, and I love how the pattern has a preppie edge to it so seems a bit more formal that it could lean a little into fall

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  9. Aaw, thanks for the comment this time! Weird that Disqus doesn't load for you; I use Chrome and it works on mine... uh oh!

    I totally agree, bra pads make a dress so much more wearable! I have a couple very old ones, too, that I save because they're so practical!

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  10. I've sewn bra pads into knit dresses before; carefully. I'd recommend stretching the boob part out over your knee or something before you sew, because if you tack the pads in at three points and then the dress wants to stretch over you when you put it on, the stitches will pull too much on the fabric. So definitely try it on before you sew!

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