Touch of Vintage Sundress

I decided to sew along for week 2 of the Project Sewn challenge.  This week's theme was to make a
sundress so I was pretty excited.  I love sundresses and could wear one every day.  They're comfortable and can be dressed up with a nice jacket or cardigan and heels, or dressed down with some flip flops. 

Most of the sundresses in my closet that I love are knit, so I decided to use some pretty floral knit that I had gotten from Girl Charlee a while ago.  The floral made me think vintage, so I knew I'd want to create a sweetheart neckline and use piping.  I also thought it would be cool to add a current trend, neon, so I used some neon green piping to define a waist.  Maybe I should call this dress "A Touch of Neon".  I only put piping in the front because I thought I would add elastic to the back.  But the knit ended up being stretchy enough to not need it. 

I have no idea what I'm doing when making women's clothing and own only one pattern - the Casual Lady Dress/Top.  So I used that pattern as a baseline but completely changed it.  I decided where the waist would be and where I'd want piping.  I also curved the front of the top from the bottom of the arm holes to the fold.  Then added 1/2 seam allowances to my changes.  I measured myself to determine the strap width and length.  I thought I would make a halter, but decided it looked better forming a V in the back.  I tried to slope the back bodice to match that V line.  I used a peachy pink fabric from Girl Charlee for the lining since I only had one yard to work with of the floral knit.  I also added pockets - a must!

I gathered the skirt using pleating to try to keep the vintage vibe.  I tacked together some mini pleats at the center neckline to give it the sweetheart look.  I left the hem of the dress unfinished because it draped better that way, and also to keep it casual - it is a sundress after all!

Since the Casual Lady dress is made with some ease, I had to take the dress in a lot!  I should have measured myself better, but I was afraid to make it too small.  Luckily I had made a center seam in the back of the bodice so I took in 1 1/2 inches there.  It looked nice after that, but still a little ill fitting.  So I took in the sides a little from the piping down.  They are upside down darts - is that a thing?  I'm sure I did something wrong but I like the look.

 Looking forward to Week 3's theme - Totally 80s!!

Also seen at:

Girl Charlee June Knitpicks