Inspiration, clockwise from top left: Jack Stitch Handmade's Vogue 9237,@nikidoesstuff_'s awesome shirt with tied sleeves, Erica's S8455 with tied sleeves and neckline, Caroline's Marthe

I saw Erica's blouse post just as I was finishing up this dress. It was a total confidence boost that my design elements weren't off-track. Erica is always on top of the trends.

Jackie advised me that the Vogue pattern is very hack-able. I mean, it's an A-line dress with a butt ruffle. I couldn't justify spending $5 on a Very Easy Vogue pattern for that. And yes, I am calling that design feature on the back the "butt ruffle"
I started off with the Simplicity 8090 blouse pattern. It was the best pattern I could find in the stash with the right silhouette and sleeves. The envelope features a version in a large gingham which confirmed that the buffalo plaid would work with the style. Also, I've made it twice and I knew that the fit was okay. However, I did adjust the armscye and sleevehead based on fitting work I did for my yellow seersucker dress. And I extended the sleeve to bracelet-ish length. I also pivoted the dart up several inches. And of course I cut the back on the fold. No need to match more plaid than necessary.

From there, I extended the front to dress length. And I slightly increased the width of both front and back below the dart to make it even more trapeze-y.

The Buffalo Plaid: Surprising nobody, I didn't buy this fabric for this project but pulled it from the stash. Mom bought this a while ago for baby blankets, but she was graciously willing to sacrifice it since she already has a stock of baby quilts on hand. I had about 2 1/2 yards but it's only 45" wide and despite my best efforts there was no way to fit all my pieces on with the selvedges folded together. Instead I cut it all on the cross-grain. Crossing my fingers that I don't regret that later after multiple washes and wearings. I was able to cut the hems of the sleeves and butt ruffle on the selvedge edges, so I didn't need to finish them at all!

I don't think I've ever cut and matched a plaid like this before. I've done some gingham on a small scale, but matching this plaid was daunting. It sat on the cutting table for two weeks before I was brave enough to go at it with the scissors. I was surprised by how not-horrible the cutting process was. I cut the fabric one layer at a time, making sure to align my plaids before cutting the second layer. It turned out great, and my plaid-matching is better than I could have hoped for.


Keyhole neckline: I estimated the depth of the keyhole based on how wide I needed the neckline to be to fit over my head. I had sketched a line on my pattern tissue and ended up cutting it narrower, but I think I could have gone even narrower. The rest of the neckline is cut from 8090, with the binding stitched on top of the blouse's stitching line. All of the neckline is bound in 1 1/2" strips cut on the bias.


Sleeve ties: The sleeve ties are 1" wide finished, bias-cut. They are inserted into the sleeve seam, about 4" from the hem.

Butt Ruffle: The butt ruffle is about 60" long and 10" wide. That was the longest I could make it after cutting the front/back pieces from my limited yardage. The ruffle is just a rectangle, but since I cut a curve on the back I have a very slight mullet effect. Evenly distributing gathers is one of my least favorite sewing tasks. Soooo many pins.



Ultimately, I made a very comfortable, sorta trendy dress. I'm not usually one to hop on the trend-wagon quickly, but this works for me! Is it a better use for this fabric than a baby blanket? The jury is out. I have certainly reduced the cuteness potential.


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PS: This totally counts as a #SewMyStashSeptember project. I bought nothing at all! Fabric, pattern, and all notions were from the stash! And I just barely finished it before the end of the month.