Best way to beat 100F weather? Spend the day making a dress in the basement! A few years ago, I had made a Wiksten tank dress with some fabric I picked up at Fancy Tiger Crafts (visiting family). I’m super inspired by both these women run businesses and this dress was the first article of clothing I had made with a pattern. I love the step-by-step instructions the Wiksten pattern provides and how quickly it comes together.

For my second dress, I knew I wanted to make a couple of adjustments. I raised the neckline by 1.5″, lowered the armholes by 1.5″, and increased the length of the front & back pieces (3″ & 5″ respectively). Lowering the armholes was a little tricky because I wasn’t sure how the front & back should line up. I followed the advice here of just lowering and redrawing the curve. It worked out pretty well, as the dress isn’t tight, giving me more wiggle room to adjust the armholes incorrectly.

I’m looking forward to working a couple more up, maybe one in black linen a la Jai_Jai_Ma’s instagram, and another in an army green for the fall/winter. There are so many other patterns I want to try out too. I’m definitely taking recommendations. What’s been your favorite pattern or piece you’ve made recently?

Sewing Queue / Dreaming:

• 3/4 sleeve dress Dress No.2 (100 Acts of Sewing) a la home.makerie
• A cropped, linen Willow Tank (Grainline Studio)
• Simple Linen Shirt (Fabric Store)
• Stowe Bag (Grainline Studio)
• Linen Kaftan Dress (Fabric Store)
• Gathered Button Front Skirt (Fabric Store)
• The Carson Dress (Paddleboat Studio) or maybe this Half-sleeve Linen Dress (Fabric Store)