DIY Inspiration: Maxi Dresses
For my next summer wardrobe sewing project, I've been looking a great maxi dress pattern and I have a feeling I won't be settling for just one. There is so much maxi dress inspiration out there, it's been hard to narrow down.
In the main styles I've been eyeing, I'm staring to notice a few themes. First, I love the super sleek, minimal dress with little sleeves or sleeveless with a simple A-line skirt. The second shape is the elongated shirt dress shape -- shirt on top, flowy maxi skirt on bottom. And, in terms of fabric, I'm really loving the bold, big florals, or a bright color, or a geometric print.
I've seen a lot of minimal DIY dress tutorials out there, which are enticing because of their simplicity, and most of which don't use a pattern. I want to go a little bit further with mine. If I'm going to buy a pretty fabric, I don't want a homemade looking dress that lacks the polished details. So, to start, I thought I would make the first dress modeled on a slim, sleek dress with an A-line skirt. I found this 70s pattern -- McCalls 3133, and I'm going to make the maxi version on the far right. After I bought the pattern (and the woven fabric) I realized this pattern is for knits! I'm going to try it anyway (it has a zipper up the back and darts) so I'm *hoping* nothing goes awry.
A runner-up pattern I was considering was McCalls 6744, mainly because of this lovely maxi dress Shay made. I decided against it though because I wanted a slightly more tailored look, but I might come back to it later.
For this first dress, I decided to go with a minimal print to test the maxi dress waters. I love this little triangle print fabric from Hawthorne Threads, and don't think it will be overwhelming with it's large scale. Next I might try something a bit bolder like a floral fabric.
As of right now, I have the fabric and pattern in hand and am adding this one to my summer wardrobe queue. I'm putting the finishing touches on some other projects, and will be posting those next week! Check back to see the progress.
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