Roses are Red, But this Dress is Blue

Roses are red,

But this dress is blue.

I stashbusted this fabric,

Whoop-tee-doo!!!!

Are you ready for spring/summer? Now that I've got a blue-pansy dress with back cut-outs, and I think I can say, yes! This dress is about as romantic as my clothing gets, but I have to admit that I'm in love. I love the fabric, I love the cut-outs on the back, I love the circle skirt, and I can't wait to wear it all summer long.

The main fabric is from my stash! (Hooray for stashbusting!) It originally came from Girl Charlee (love that site). I don't usually choose flower prints, but the blue pansy print won me over! The contrast fabric (used at the waist and as lining) was a purchase from Fabric.com months ago. When it originally arrived, I didn't like it. In fact, it was in a trash bag for Goodwill. But when I started working with the blue pansy fabric, in a stroke of genius, I picked out the other navy fabric as a contrast--and THAT is what really makes this dress pop! Since everything used in this dress came from my stash, it definitely qualifies for Cation's Stashbusting Sewalong.

Sewing Notes- I used McCall 6647 as a starting point. I couldn't find any reviews for this pattern, and I don't know why. It's a super cute pattern. I did modify the pattern bodice quite a bit, but that's because I used a knit fabric instead of a woven. I completely redrafted both bodice pieces, and changed the back to add ties at the top. But I used the skeleton of McCall 6647, and I think it's a good pattern. The back cut-outs are drafted so that they show a good amount of skin, but you can still wear a regular bra--which is a very important feature!

Since I was using a stretchy knit fabric, I added an attached "belt" out of contrasting fabric. My "belt" is essentially a tunnel for elastic, but it's on the outside instead of the usual inside tunnel. The elastic keeps the dress securely at my waist, and adds a pop of wow.

I'm getting more patient with my sewing... I don't know if it's because I'm getting older and wiser or what... Even though this is a knit dress, I still did a lot of little extras to make it super nice. And even though that added time to sew it, I ENJOYED the process! Some added special steps:
- bodice pattern re-worked and traced.
- bodice is fully lined and understitched.
- all seam allowances are zig-zagged (unnecessary for a knit fabric, but looks nice).
- side zipper included (even though I could probably pull it over my head, wanted to minimize stress to the dress).
- hand-picked zipper. 
- hem finished with hem lace (which I left exposed because it is so cute!).

This dress makes me happy. I anticipate living in it this spring/summer. I just may need to revisit this pattern again... Also, on a blog-related front, since Google Reader is going away, I've been trying several different readers, and I think NetVibes may be the winner. After playing around extensively with Feedly and NetVibes, I feel that NetVibes can be set up to mimic Google Reader a bit better. Give it a try, but be warned, there is a learning curve involved.

Finally, let me leave you with some twirly goodness!