Mid-calf length with contrasting yoke and hemband, made with Hello Darling by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics
The next design in the spring collection is a throwback to the 70's! Meet the Ava Sundress! I had an old pattern from 1975 in my stash that was calling to me, so I got it out and began looking at the elements I liked. Amazingly, it had great lines but needed a bit of tweaking, so I got to work!
This is a wonderful flowy dress without being too loose. It still has shape while being comfortable to wear. It lends itself to so many different options in fabric! I made several from quilting cotton, but then I branched out and made one from stretch chambray and rayon. It would be fantastic in linen, silk, or even a heavier handed cotton lawn. You might have to line it if made from cotton lawn, depending on the sheerness of the fabric chosen. This dress works incredibly well with border prints as you will see in the photos, so consider using one when making this dress.
This dress is sleeveless. I know a lot of you love sleeves, but this dress would look sort of weird with sleeves, at least in my opinion! If you like the look of the dress but want sleeves, try wearing it with a cropped cardigan. Then you have the sleeves and a cute layered lok without having to alter the pattern.
Design features for this dress include a raised sweetheart neckline that is an easy fit. The yoke is fully lined, so the only facings are very small at the lower armhole openings. The dress itself is darted at the bust for a nice fit. There are princess darts at the front and back waistline as well. The front waistline darts are optional, depending on the fabrics you choose as well as the fit you want. For the rayon version of this dress, I left out the front waistline darts as the fabric was so flowy, it didn't need them. There are three options for the length: knee, mid-calf, and maxi. There is a zipper down the center back. For those of you who hate zippers, this really is an easy one to install, especially if you use MY tutorial for the installation! What are you waiting for?
Additional details for this dress include the options to make the yoke and hemband from a contrasting fabric, or adding machine applique. Note the chambray dress with the bird applique....those birds are a new stitchery pattern that I will be talking about tomorrow!
As mentioned before, these new patterns will go on sale this weekend so stay tuned!
It's time for the photos to do their magic....here's Ava!
Maxi length made from stretch chambray by Robert Kaufman. Note the applique birds here....from our new stitchery pattern, Birds in Flight! Birds were cut from white cotton voile, fused, and stitched with metallic thread on the machine.
Knee length with contrasting ruffle hem, featuring a border print that flows across the dress. Fabric featured here is a floral from Michael Miller Fabrics.
Maxi length, made from rayon by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabrics.
Knee length with contrasting yoke and hemband, made from Purebred by Erin Michaels for Moda Fabrics.
Maxi length with contrasting hemband, made from a border print: Raindot by Michael Miller Fabrics.
This pattern is available for purchase on our website now! Go get yours today!!
Happy Sewing!!