Plantain Dress

I have now made 4 Deer and Doe Plantain Tees in some form or another. The first was an unblogged muslin that is totally wearable. See number 2 here and 3 here. This is the fourth one and it has been turned into a dress. That's how you get your money's worth out of a pattern - except this one is free to begin with!

This time I shortened the sleeves to just above the elbow and, of course, cut the length to just come to the belly button. I also had to take the sides in about an inch on each side and could still take in more, but a belt looks good with it anyway. For the skirt I didn't want to just cut rectangles, so I used the front skirt piece from Butterick 5781 but made it a little narrower because I didn't have enough fabric. The Butterick one uses pleats which require more fabric and I wanted gathers anyway. The width of my skirt is 1-1/2 times the width of the bodice and I think it's just enough gathers for me. I also used the pattern's side seam pocket piece.

The dress fabric is Prussian Blue Solid Cotton Spandex Knit Fabric from Girl Charlee  and I love it. It has 10% spandex so it's really stretchy. It's my little secret (not anymore ;-)) that the pockets are two different fabrics just for fun. I used scraps of light weight woven navy blue prints to reduce bulk. Cell phones are heavy and I didn't want stretchy fabric there. Probably no one will ever notice even if they get a peek inside one because they won't see both at the same time. For some reason, that little secret makes me really happy. It's one of the fun things about making your own clothes.

My double needle and I have been getting along pretty well lately. The hems on this dress are an inch deep and look fantastic if I do say so myself. My top threads get twisted after a while, so I just know now that I will have to re-thread at some point. It's better if I pick that point myself (side seam) instead of it happening front and center. 

I wore this dress for the 2-1/2 hour drive to Columbus, Ohio for my daughter's volleyball championships on Mother's Day. (I know, heck of a way to spend Mother's Day right?) We went down on Saturday afternoon, went to mass at the cathedral, walked around the city, ate dinner and then I finally had her take some pictures of me. It still looks good and felt so comfortable and stylish to walk around the city in. Well, more than my usual jeans and t-shirt.

I'd like to make another one in a lighter/brighter color for summer and with shorter sleeves or maybe sleeveless. Do you do that too? Make multiples of the same pattern over and over? It's hard not to once you know you like something.