My Out And About Dress

Hello Everyone!
I just want to share my Out and About Dresses.
I made one with a less expensive navy fabric first and then I made my green dress out of this bright and happy summery fabric. Making the navy dress first gave me a change to work out any issues I might have and just be familiar with the pattern. I definitely think making the navy dress first helped me make the green dress much better. The second time around I made some spray starch with corn starch, water, and a couple drops of jasmine oil. This really helped me sew the neck and arm holes. I also made a few other changes like deciding to use my quarter inch foot to sew the bands on.
I really love both my dresses!

First I made a freezer paper copy of the size I wanted to use. 

This navy fabric is reversible so I used the dot side for most of the dress but I decided to use the stripe side for the back. 

Ta da! 

Okay so I don't love everything about my navy dress. The neckline really isn't as nice as it could be and the hem on my sleeves are a little bulky. I did not use the cuff on them. Anyway I do really like it and I will wear it when we get some Fall weather. 

Now on to my green dress. I love this fabric, it's a Robert Kaufman line. 

I saw a blog where they said to try using some elastic to make perfect gathers. I gave it a try and I think it worked really well but it was a pain in the butt. It wasn't perfect, it was hard to do, and it adds more bulk so I'm not sure how I feel about it. I left the elastic in the back but took the time to rip out the front elastic after sewing the skirt and top together to reduce the bulk in the front. I do think it looks really nice though.

Lots and Lots of spray starch really helps to put on the neck bands and arm bands. 

I followed Sew Caroline's blog post for how to make a sleeveless dress. My only regret it not cutting out more fabric from the armpit area. 

This looks so much better! 

I really love it! 

So maybe I'm not done with this pattern yet. I believe this fabric for the skirt and a solid black top with long sleeves will make a really nice dress for winter with some leggings and my tall back boots...