Well friends, all my lucky stars did line up - it was a very productive sewing weekend! Here's my dress, a cross between the summer blouse and the trapeze sundress.
I made a size L, with a full bust adjustment. The back ended up being too wide, so next time I'll have to adjust that. The front was also a little wide, but I needed the room for the girls. I ended up trimming off some at the shoulder and arm opening.
I lowered the neckline by 2" at the front. I cut off the blouse about 2" below the placket, which I ended up applying to the front of the blouse instead of the inside. I used the trapeze sundress pattern piece for the skirt. To accommodate the difference in width between the top and the skirt, I added some gathers at the center front. At this point the whole dress was too wide, so I added some darts in the back to give it a little shape. Because this goes on over my head, I couldn't fit it too much, which is how the belt came about. To hit at the knee, I cut off about 4-5".
I ended up using some thrifted sheets for this first version. You can't really tell from the photos, but I used the same pattern as the belt for the placket and binding on the arm holes and neck opening. I used a wide binding because I wanted the decorative effect, but that made the neckline a little stiff.
I'm not sure if I'll ever hear this outside the house. Truthfully, I'm not sure where I'd wear it. Without the belt, this is a great night gown or around-the-house dress.
If I were to make this again I think I'd lower my waistline by a few inches. It looks kind of maternity-ish to me right now. I'd also lower my hemline. This ended up a tad too short for my comfort. I'd use narrower bindings and maybe add some side shaping. Even with all my personal "critiques", I'm still quite pleased with it. I loved the challenge of making this, using the basic pieces in the book to come up with my own unique dress. Who knows, maybe I'll make another next weekend :)
