Breezy Dress

MunaAndBroad.com

Skill level

This project is suitable for beginners with guidance.

Size range and fitting

There is a lot of ease in this dress and blouse, 8 inches at the bust and 12 inches at the waist. They are sized A to M for busts 40 inches to 64 inches, waists 36 inches to 60 inches and hips 41½ inches to 71½ inches. There are three cup sizes to choose from, which are expressed as measurement-based descriptors: 2+ indicates a 2-inch difference between upper bust and full bust; 4+ is a 4-inch difference; and 6+ is a 6-inch difference.

Fabrics

Use lightweight denim, linen, crepe de Chine, chambray, cotton voile, lawn, batiste, gauze, and rayon challis. Choosing from these suggestions helps you achieve the intended look.

Style and sewing details

This versatile top or dress features a round neckline, optional Peter Pan collar, a cropped bodice with bust darts, elastic gathered sleeves, gathered peplum or skirt, and a choice of buttons or decorative bows for the closures.

• Finished garment measurements are provided for the bust and for the garment’s length at center front to hemline.

• In step 14, the right skirt front should be right side up.

• In some illustrations, the left front is shown overlapping the right. It should be right over left throughout.

• In step 25, flip the pockets out of the way before gathering the skirt’s top edge to prevent excessive bulk in the seam. Step 27 correctly illustrates the pocket tops subsequently anchored to the gathered skirt edge.

• On the dress, the bodice opens only to the waistline seam. However, you may want to extend the opening below the waist seam to make it easier to get in and out of the dress.

• Our tester recommends staystitching the shoulder and waistline seams, as they are slightly on the bias.

• Make a muslin of the bodice, as you may want to reduce the amount of ease.

• Let creativity shine. For the front closures use decorative buttons, elegant eye-catching trim, or specialty ribbons.

Pattern tested and sewn by Gayle Moline, Manson, Iowa.

Fabric: cotton double gauze, StylemakerFabrics.com.

Illustrations: Steven Fleck.

Photos: Mike Yamin.

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