The Daisy Dress is my first make from my Spring/Summer Sewing 2016 Plan. My verdict? I’m in love with the final product. The construction, not so much.
The dress is the Daisy Dress pattern that came with the Simply Sewing magazine I purchased back in May. I chose to make this one first because it looked like a simple pattern with simple construction. I chose a turquoise quilting broadcloth for my fabric. Generally I wouldn’t use quilting cotton, but the design was simple enough that a heavier cloth didn’t make that much of a difference. (I actually finished it June 2nd, but life’s interfered with me getting it posted.)
Construction
I cut the pattern out without any modifications. Looking back, I probably could have done with a slight full bust adjustment, but the end result was still wearable and comfortable. I will definitely say that the facing around the neck and shoulders was VERY fiddly. I re-did this portion of the dress 3 times before I finally got it right. If I make it again, I’ll probably make a full lining for the bodice instead. First I forgot to sew the neckline to the facing. Then I sewed the front portion of the sleeves and the back portion of the sleeves together so there were no armholes at all. There were a few choice words and some hysterical laughter, then I ripped it apart again and tried a third time. There was a lot of pushing around and tucking through of the fabric to get it to the point where I could sew the facing to the bodice.
I think the dress took me about 5 hours in total: 1 hour for cutting and the main assembly, two hours of fiddling with the facing and bodice pieces, and then another couple of hours of hemming since I hemmed the dress by hand. I’m not the fastest sewer, but I sew to relax so I’m fine with that. It’s also my first sewing project in several years, so I took my time to make sure that I didn’t screw too many things up. (Obviously, that didn’t help with the facing issues that I had.)
Final Product
I do love how it turned out. The dress is super comfortable, and the color is just perfect!
(The dress really isn’t this wrinkled in the back normally. It isn’t a fitting issue, but more of an “I was doing a lot of bending and checking of the camera and didn’t tug it straight back into place” issue.)