Self Drafted Sundresses are Essential in Florida!

I recently decided to make a sundress which became a rather obsessive and delicious rant of drafting, tucking and adjusting my dress block. I have never made a spaghetti strapped sundress before and have been recently inspired by some of the looks coming from my Instagram feed and the fashion that I see everyday living in the warm climate of Central Florida.

The shape of this beautiful gingham dress by The Pretty Dress Company was what I was looking for with a fitted bodice and full skirt.

The heat down here is intense and the need for light and effortless clothing is ongoing. I didn’t have a pattern similar to this dress and I truthfuly didn’t want to purchase one because I feel like I already have enough patterns that I have not yet used. I did feel as though I could possibly create a stasfactory one from the bodice block that I use for practically all of my woven dresses.

I ended up trimming my bodice block quite a bit to match the shape that I wanted and this required me to remove the two side darts that are in my basic bodice and deepening the two in the front.

I honestly looked at these new darts with fear that they were too wide! They were huge but I decided to go for it because I really wanted only two darts in the front of my bodice raising up to my mid bust.

I ended up making 2 muslins for the bodice and I am so glad that I did because the fit of this bodice was the highest of importance to me in this project. I did most of my adjustments in the two darts in the front and also took quite a bit of inches off around the arms before deciding to go with the adjustments I had made and make the real bodice that I was willing to wear in public!

I created spaghetti straps by sewing strips of fabric 2 inches wide with a 5/8 seam allowance, grading the seam allowance and turning with a safety pin.

I knew that I wanted a full skirt with box pleats. I love the look of box pleats and I honestly enjoy the process of creating pleats the old fashioned way by pressing and pinning them at the ironing board . (I know I’m crazy).

I added deep 2 1/2 inch box pleats in the front and the back, a 17 inch invisible zipper in the back seam and then I had my dress!!

I am happy with the fit and love the print that I got months back from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I know I will wear this dress many times and can dress it up or down with casual sandals or heels and a cardigan.

Have a beautiful day!