Summer to the Maxi Dress- Take 2

I was so flattered when my son's girlfriend saw the maxi dress I made for my daughter and asked if I would make one for her.
Here is the result:

Cute, right?  Girl and Dress!  :-)

We found the fabric at fabrics.com.  It is an ITY knit.  I wasn't sure about sewing with this fabric at first, but now, after two projects with it, I am a believer!  The fabric is stretchy, but stable.  This means that it is very forgiving with cut and fit, but stays where you want it when sewing.  No crazy slipping all over the place.

I used a jersey needle and a tiny zigzag on my serger to keep everything stretchy.  I used the double needle on the hem for a quick finish.  In the past, I have had problems with "tunneling" when using a double needle, but I got some good advice from Leah at No Time to Sew and loosened the bobbin tension until I got the result I wanted.

I highly recommend this New Look pattern.  There is a picture on it on this post.  The directions were easy to follow and it easily goes together in a day.  I especially like the clean finishes on the inside of the dress.

Next up on the summer sewing list:  A few needed home dec projects. 

What have you been creating this summer?

Summer to the Maxi Dress

Finally, time for a summer sewing project!  It was one of those "drop-everything-and-concentrate-only-on-this" projects that I truly love.

My younger daughter came home for one of her whirlwind visits - just 2 nights!- so I figured I better get going on the maxi dress that she had requested while I had her physically here for a few fittings.

We found a cute black and white ITY knit at Joanne's on sale. The pattern we picked out was version B of this pattern:

I had not worked with an ITY knit before, but was very happy about how easy it was to work with.  It was a bit slippery and the edges tended to roll if I was not careful, but overall it was a nice fabric to work with.  Since I am still working on fitting adult bodies, I did make a muslin of the bodice.  Boy was I glad I did!  I ended up making a whole size smaller than the pattern envelope measurements indicated.  Other than that, I didn't have to make many adjustments.  The pattern directions were easy to follow and all the pieces fit together perfectly!  And...it went together in a day - a long day, but still one day.

Overall, I think mother and daughter were both happy about how this project turned out - even at 1:30 am when we put the final touches on the double needle hem so that she could take it back to school with her today.    :-)