Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

08.15.19

SEWING

Handmade

If you had told me a few years ago that I would soon be sewing garments to mark special occasions such as the first day of school, I would have laughed. I never dreamed my sewing journey would come this far, and now I feel like I’m only just getting started.

Months ago I sewed myself a gorgeous dress of from this colorful striped fabric and was very pleased to see I had plenty left over to make something for Caroline as well. (I still haven’t gotten around to taking pictures of my dress because I am wearing it so often! Hopefully soon…) When the first day of school was quickly approaching and I was in between sewing projects for myself, I decided a tried and true pattern was the way to go to make her something special without a huge time investment.

The mini Southport dress was a perfect option. I sewed up my first version last summer and Caroline has worn it tons. She has been begging me for a maxi dress, and I thought a maxi version paired with this lovely fabric would be a perfect choice for the first day of school. I adore the final garment and so does Caroline! In fact, before I had even finished hemming it, she was begging me to take photos of her in it. It is rare that she’s the one requesting a photo shoot so that is pretty telling.

Since I have already posted about the mini Southport dress pattern before, I’ll direct you there for my specific thoughts about pattern and fit. This is such a solid choice and I know I’ll be making Southport dresses for both Caroline and myself indefinitely!

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
01/06
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

I’m sorry, where did my baby girl go? How does she look so big?!

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

Thankfully she’s still as cheesy as ever.

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

And dramatic!

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

A quick note about selecting a striped fabric for this project: if you are as particular as I am, you will need to cut the waistband after sewing together the skirt pieces so that the waistband stripes match the skirt stripes perfectly. You will likely need to piece the waistband together to achieve this, so that the back skirt and front skirt fabric matches the waistband, since those are three separate pieces of fabric.

I didn’t bother trying to match up the stripes of the bodice and the skirt because with the waist gathering once tied, I just isn’t worth the time and potential agony of getting those cuts exactly right. I’m happy with just matching up the waistband in this case.

Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
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  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

    I’m sorry, where did my baby girl go? How does she look so big?!

  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

    Thankfully she’s still as cheesy as ever.

  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

    And dramatic!

  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress

    A quick note about selecting a striped fabric for this project: if you are as particular as I am, you will need to cut the waistband after sewing together the skirt pieces so that the waistband stripes match the skirt stripes perfectly. You will likely need to piece the waistband together to achieve this, so that the back skirt and front skirt fabric matches the waistband, since those are three separate pieces of fabric.

    I didn’t bother trying to match up the stripes of the bodice and the skirt because with the waist gathering once tied, I just isn’t worth the time and potential agony of getting those cuts exactly right. I’m happy with just matching up the waistband in this case.

  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
  • Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
    Happy Stripes Maxi Dress
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