When I first saw this rainbow striped bubble gauze I knew I needed to get some of it. I bought about 3 yards at Joann. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to make with it, but I knew it had a beach feel to it. I looked through shirt dress patterns from several pattern designers and ultimately decided on Simplicity 8546. The fit of the dress was simple and would make an excellent beach coverup dress. The optional tie in view A was intriguing and I thought I would like to try it. With the fabric, notions, and pattern in hand I began the dress.
The Fabric
Not too surprisingly, the dress came together very quickly. It was done in 24 hours (including cutting out the paper pattern). The trickiest part of the whole thing was planning the stripes and working with bubble gauze. I always pre-wash my fabric and when I washed and dried this fabric it crinkled a lot, which I was completely expecting. I crinkled it on purpose because I didn’t want the fabric to crinkle after I had made it and change the fit of the dress. It is also 100 percent cotton. You could pre-wash and then iron, but that would still affect the final dress. I only pressed the collar and cuff pieces where the interfacing goes. Pins were very helpful when managing the fiddly parts.
The Fit
I cut out my normal “big four” size, which happens to be one size down from the recommended size based on my measurements. That seems to be fairly typical if you like less ease in your clothing. I made no alterations to the pattern. I didn’t add the pockets. I usually add pockets to dresses and skirts that are full and I skip them if it is fitting around the hips. I don’t like the bulky feeling of extra fabric.
This dress fit very nicely. I have long arms and I think the sleeve length was great. The length of view A is excellent. it hits me right above my knee. If you are petite you may want to try the shorter length. The waist tie is sewn into the side seam and you can tie it in the front of the back. I think both look nice. I will definitely make this dress again and make a separate tie that wraps all the way around too.
The Feeling
This dress is all about the feeling. It is soft and textured. It is light and airy. It make me want to go to the beach and eat ice cream OR go to the candy store. It feels playful. The buttons on the front button band are baby blue and the cuff buttons are cotton candy pink. That is a *feeling*. I just love it.
Overall: Very pleased with the pattern and dress!
-Paige
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