I have been in such a bright and sunny mood lately! I think it has to do with the weather and the fact that I can finally make plans to visit my friends and family now that I’m fully vaccinated! I couldn’t think of a better way to use some of this excited energy than to make the new March Dress by Helen’s Closet! It’s a great pattern that you can use to make a top with a peplum or a loose-fitting knee length dress. The pattern has awesome sleeve options and this cool panel construction that I’ve never seen before. I sewed up the dress with short sleeves and omitted the optional necktie for a cleaner look. I used some gorgeous wax print from my stash that I got from AKN Fabrics about a year ago. Once I tried on the dress, I thought “Wow, this would be perfect to wear for summer barbecues and walks on the beach!” Well, I haven’t been invited to any barbecues yet, but I’m heading to the beach in a month so I can’t wait to frolic in the sand in this fun, flowy dress!
I made this dress without any modifications which is very unlike me ?. Because it is loose fitting, you don’t have to stress much about which size to make. I chose the size based on my measurements, but next time I would probably go down a size or two or maybe insert some elastic into the waistband. Although I kind of love the fit of this dress. My instincts always tell me to accentuate my waist, but sometimes you fall for a garment that breaks those rules.
The fabric I used is a bit stiffer than most of the wax print I have, so the resulting dress is more structured than it would be if you made it out of a soft linen or rayon for example. This stiffness really helped when working on the panel construction. I had some serious doubts that the panels would turn out correctly. I followed the directions, and everything was going fine but I just couldn’t see how it would work in my mind. I never should have doubted the geniuses at Helen’s Closet, however, because once I turned the panels to the right side everything worked perfectly. The neckline is so crisp and professional looking that I can’t wait to use this pattern more in the future. Because the wax print is so stiff, I probably could have omitted the interfacing but I still like the result. The panels are really the star of this pattern. You can turn this dress into a scrap buster by choosing to make your panels out of leftover fabric pieces.
I can’t believe that I haven’t mentioned the pockets yet. This pattern makes a dress with fantastically deep pockets. The construction was a little different from what I’m used to, but it was easy to make and a good skill to have. This dress took me about a week to complete, but I only worked on it for a few hours each day after work. If you want, it can easily be completed in a weekend. The most time-consuming portion of the make is the panel construction, but once you get that completed, it’s a breeze to the finish line. I love this dress so much! I learned some great skills and the dress turned out perfectly. I can’t wait to wear it all around town (in a socially distanced and responsible way, of course).
