Monday, February 6, 2012

Flirty Shirt Dress


I absolutely love it when a "hmmmm" turns into an investigation which in turn becomes a fabulously fun project and ends in the creation of something I will actually love to wear! My last post was a love affair with the shirt from VogueV8747, adorable and with a twist at the neckline that gave it some feminine softness. I planned on making another one and then I wondered "how would that shirt look lengthened and turned into a shirt dress?" I've never been drawn to shirt dresses because there is something so tailored about them and that is so not me. So I wondered, with the cute neckline on V8747, what else could I add to a shirt dress that would kick it up and notch and make it a little more girly? I already knew I needed to extend the princess lines of the blouse to create a dress so I went to my pattern stash to see what I might have on hand that would simplify that process. And then I found McCall's5523. How cute would it be for the back of the shirt dress to have one of these little flounces! Look how the lines of these 2 patterns fit together:










 It looked like the lines of both would coincide and, in fact, they did, with amazing precision:



In order to assure that the sections would all be the same length I measured the sections of the pattern that overlapped and made each overlapping section the same length. There may be more precise methods but this worked really well for me.

I added the collar to this shirt dress and felt like it still needed a little something extra so I put some flap pockets on the front:


This was a fun project and relatively simple. I look forward to getting some sun on my legs and weather a little warmer to wear my flirty shirt dress!


12 comments:

  1. Wow! What a gorgeous dress and super flattering! The two patterns work perfectly together.

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  2. How clever and what a great dress you have ended up with.

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  3. Clever, creative and super good-looking! You may find a designer imitating YOU soon. I have never thought along these lines - quite inspirational! The fabric is great too- do you mind sharing what it is?

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  4. You're genius. Great looking fabric too.

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  5. Not only did you pick two great designs to combine into such a feminine dress but then you picked a fantastic fabric. Wonderful!

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  6. Wow what a result you must be delighted - looks fab

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  7. Shirt dresses can be so boring and predictable. Yours is anything but, what with the modern print fabric and wonderful style details. Love the flirty flounces of the skirt.

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  8. WOW! I LOVE your dress!!! What a fantastic idea to blend the shirt and skirt patterns.

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  9. You're like a frankenpatterning genius! This fits amazingly!

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Hi...thanks for stopping by...I love reading your comments! If you have questions and would like a personal response, please email me at artattack77024@gmail.com. Now...go sew!

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