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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!

A close-to-last summery dress

Thank you, Oregon, for the gorgeous and warm weather we've had this past week!  I've had to pull out the cuffed-hem jean shorts a couple times and I love it!

I am a summer and warm-weather person, so I'm not thinking about fall yet.  Which may be why I'm still making summery dresses... the latest is a seriously modified version of McCall's M5806, inspired by a few Anthropologie summer faves:

The pattern:
The pretties:
I like the sort of drapey look of the ruching and tie belts on these dresses.  I used the criss-cross spaghetti strap version in the pattern and cut the pieces larger and longer than called for, so I could gather them and sew them to the linings (cut the original size).  This made for ruching on the bust and midriff.  I had a lightweight cotton print that I got on clearance at JoAnn a while back, and the texture and weight were about perfect.  I didn't have enough for a two-panel skirt, but the fabric was extra-wide, so the skirt is the width of one panel--not super puffy or anything, more modern.
Here it is with the sash:
And without the belt, 'cause I thought it looked cute that way, too!
See the ruching?  The fabric has little Asian flower buds on it, but kind of looks like popcorn to me.  Either way, it's a fun, lightweight dress for late summer!

14 comments

  1. Very cute, I love the colour of this dress!

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  2. Gorgeous fabric - gorgeous ruching, well done!

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  3. nice fabric choice and it goes so well with the pattern

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  4. You did a lovely job! And I can't believe how flat it lies across you bust. These sort of dresses always pull funny there for me, which probably means I'm not making the correct adjustments for my body. :) Used to live in Portland area and I sure miss it! The warm all year round weather of Southern California is really not all it's cracked up to be!

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  5. I love the print, and the cut/ruching is really flattering!

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  6. I feel bad... but I'm over here going, Sun, please just go away and let fall come! I'm so ready, even though we didn't have that hot of a summer! :)

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  7. Wow Suzannah, your sewing talent is only matched by your productivity. I'm seriously impressed by all the beautiful things you've made this summer. Next year we're moving to a place that is 24/7/365 summer, and I've already thought that I'm going to go on a Suzannah-esque summer dress sewing spree. Say that 3 times fast :)
    -A

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  8. What a lovely dress, and it fits you so well! I'm still in summer sewing mode, but here in DC, I can count on another 30 days of warm, sunny weather. I love the colors in the print you chose, I bet it would look great with cropped cardigan over it too!
    -Marianne

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  9. This is one of my favorites I've seen so far! I love the fabric and the ruching!!

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  10. Super cute. Love the fabric. Pretty please can you take a full body picture of your smiling face with your creations? Its so much fun to see the full effect. You are fantastic.

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  11. I wouldn't have thought about using a formal dress for a sundress, but that one is perfect. I love the fabric used, too.

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  12. Darling dress! I wish I could sew like you. I did just made a baby skirt with that same fabric though.
    http://creativelychristy.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-skirt.html

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