This is an old dress pattern, but one I’ve used several times for projects over the years. It’s a great simple empire-waisted take on a shift dress, and I am amazed how many times I turn to it when someone (or I) want a new sleeveless dress. I like the fact that it doesn’t have long bodice darts (oops! I mean princess darts? The darts that extend from under the bust, through the waist to the upper hip area), because those are a fitting nightmare to me, especially for myself.
And since my last version of this dress has been worn to a rag, I thought I’d like a new one. I made it up out of a stretch cotton remnant from EmmaOneSock.com but there was barely a yard, and I ran out of length. So I faced the hem with scraps. It’s a little bit short for my taste, but I’m sure it will wear well!
I lined it with bemberg from my stash. It’s a super comfy dress! The stretch-cotton is a bit heavier than the pattern calls for, so I may have it for a while! Here’s the back view. I made quite a significant short-waist adjustment combined with a high-hip adjustment. You can see it could have been a little bit shorter, too, by the slight lines at my waist. I know it’s usually taken care of my a sway-back adjustment by folding out the excess, but I find this messes with the grainlines a little to much – perhaps because I need to do such a significant adjustment – a total of 2 inches in length.
I made two other adjustments: I raised the neckline by one inch and I did my usual FBA. Here’s my goof-off pose for Me Made May ’13.