Lark Dress

Before I get into the fun details of the dress, you may have noticed a couple changes here. I have tried to update my blog and I am slowly working on making it better and prettier. But I am not computer savvy at all. Like, at all. I mean I know how to turn the thing on and type, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Oh, and the internet, I know how to internet. So bear with me as I try to navigate the whole website upkeep thing, which will most certainly result in me enlisting my brother to help me. After all, he did get that Masters Degree in Computer Science, he can figure this stuff out, right? 

Now onto the dress, I have been officially swayed to the “loose fitting dresses” side. I do still have a couple form fitting dresses, like my recent Sirena Dress, but overall I tend to reach for loose fitting garments these days. An idea of a t-shirt dress really appealed to me. Just the name, t-shirt dress, makes me think of softness and comfort. I envisioned the dress to be loose, not too short, yet not too long, and most importantly, comfy!

First came the fabric. For my t-shirt dress I wanted a super soft and quality fabric so I got this charcoal bamboo cotton knit from Blackbird Fabrics. Originally I wanted the dress in a colored knit, but I missed out on the maroon color Caroline had in store. So charcoal it was. I am in love with all shades of gray, so it is not a big deal at all! The fabric is super soft without being too think or too thin. I didn’t want the dress to cling to me and show off every line. I didn’t want a heavy cotton jersey either and I wanted the dress to have some drape. This fabric is perfect for it!

The pattern was next. I do have a couple loose t-shit patterns, but rather than trying them out I decided to go with tried-and-true Lark Tee. I really like the scoop neckline, I loved the sleeves and I like overall fit of the t-shirt. For those who are interested, here is what I did to the pattern, along with an illustration:

• I added about 2.5″ at the hip. I kept my bust the same and flared my side seam from under the bust to the new hip
• I added about 10″ in length
• For the hem, I measured ~1/4″ from each side and curved the hem up. Don’t ask me why, I am not a pattern drafter, but this creates a nicer hem and the dress hangs nicer
  
• I used the short sleeve pattern and lengthened it by ~3″, which I forgot to show on the illustration (oops!) and made it less fitted, see red lines, so that I can roll the sleeves up. Here are the pictures of rolled sleeve and un-rolled sleeve:

   

I sewed the dress up exactly the same way I did the t-shirts. There is nothing much to say about the construction. It’s pretty straight forward, but here is a picture of a pretty neckline:

I couldn’t wait to put the dress on the next morning! Even though it is a t-shirt dress and is probably a little casual, I figured I can get away with wearing it to work with some heels. As soon as I put it on, the dress was greeted with “You made a nightie!” from S. I tried to convince him that it is in fact a dress and the conversation went something like this:

me:    “It’s a dress!”
S:        “It certainly looks like a night gown”
me:     “No! It is made out of this super comfy knit fabric! Feel it!”
S:         “Exactly! It will be comfortable to sleep in”

I give up. I will still wear it.

And to finish it all off, here is a cute picture of my dog, Skye, getting into the shot. She is such a little brat, but so cute and I love her too much!

Love,
Anya

Posted By: Anya · In: Blog, Tutorial