Night and Day Dress of the Month

I made a big plan for this year for my own wardrobe. I am going to make a version of the Night and Day Dress from Charm Patterns designed by Gretchen Hirsch. The pattern has the opportunity to make 72 different dresses by combining the different sleeve, bodice, collar and skirt pattern pieces.

Every month beginning this month and going all the way through February 2020. Each dress will be seasonally appropriate.

Today I’m here to show you the dress for March.

There are a few things I changed and a few things I want to change on the next one.

I lengthened the back darts and rounded the front darts. I took about 1.5 inches off of the back to shorten it. And now I think it fits pretty well.

I chose to make the simplest version for the dress for this first one because I knew I wanted to work on the fitting.

There are a couple of things I want to do to finish this dress.

It still needs a hem and I will add a few belt loops to wear this belt with it. I think it makes it look better.

For the next one I would like to narrow the neck just a little bit because I hate always adjusting my bra straps so they aren’t sticking out.

Another thing I dislike is the fabric on the bodice. I bought it at JoAnn Fabrics and I knew it felt stiff when I was buying it but I assumed it was just heavily sized and that would come out when I prewashed it. No luck. It is one of the most stiff fabrics I’ve every worked with. Both the skirt and bodice are 100% cotton but the hand and drape are so different from each other.

I’m excited that in September I’ll be taking a class in New York State with Gretchen herself. By then I will have made 6 dresses from this pattern but I know that she will be able to help be get the most perfect fit. Stay tuned for the progress.