Green Dress

Have you ever found that once you learn the "right" way to make something you can't go back to doing it "wrong" even if the wrong way is faster and easier and you are in a hurry? That was totally the case for me on the green shirt dress that I posted about briefly last Monday. I wanted to wear it on a Saturday and I started it Friday night, but I still made sure that every seam was fully finished even though it doubled the amount of time it took to make.

It's McCall's 7084 view D. I'm really happy with how this dress turned out. I feel like it's professional enough that I could wear it to work meetings, but it's not too dressy to wear hanging out with my friends. Here is a shot showing the sleeves and collar a bit more.

And I added pockets!

The pattern included pockets for the version with a narrower skirt, but I wanted a full skirt and pockets, so I just went ahead and added them. I'm really glad that I did because pockets are awesome. 

If I were to make this dress again (and I might because I really like it) the only other change I would make would be to make the button band wider or to not add interfacing to it. I had some problems with the buttonholes/sewing on the buttons because of how thick the band ended up. You end up having to sew through 5 layers of fabric and two of interfacing with the narrow band. 

I used french seams for all the straight seams and clean seams for the curved seams, except the seams with the pockets, that one I zig-zagged because it was late at night and my brain just wasn't processing right and wrong sides for the seam finished. I used quilters cotton for the dress and the lack of right and wrong sides can make things both easier and harder. But I just couldn't resist the green. I'm not normally one for posting selfies, but look at the way the color makes my eyes pop!

Oh, I almost forgot, I did change the sleeves a bit. They are meant to be folded up and then buttoned in place. I was running out of time, so rather than do a button hole and sew on the button and make it so the sleeves could be rolled down I just sewed a narrow hem, folded up the sleeve and sewed the button on through all the layers. I would not do that next time, not that I would ever wear the sleeves unbuttoned, but I think it would be easier to iron if they could be unbuttoned.

This is totally my new favorite dress and I think I am going to wear it so much that Fiance is going to get sick of seeing it. It fits well though and makes me feel gorgeous, what more could I ask for in a frock?