After cleaning out my closet a few months again, I began to feel like I didn’t have any dresses to wear. I had success Inari Tee pattern but wanted to expand my repertoire. In my search for basic dress patterns, I found the Adelaide dress from Seamwork Magazine. All of the Seamwork patterns are designed to be sewn in just a few hours and this one only takes 3 hours. Even though I did buttons instead of snaps on the dress it was really fast to make. I just love a fast make, especially when it’s a basic, wardrobe builder like this dress.
For this pattern, I decided to start with a wearable muslin (a test garment out of fashion fabric that’s completely finished). The fabric is from the Michael Levine bargain bins in downtown LA. It’s almost a seersucker but doesn’t have as much puckering and I suspect it also has some synthetic fibers. It’s a light-medium weight with no show-through (yay!) so it’s just perfect for this dress.
I cut a size 10 at the bust and graded to an 8 at the hips. Following the advice of Rachel, I also lowered the bust dart one inch. In the end, I think the fit is pretty good and works really well belted. The pattern also includes a self fabric belt and belt loops but I skipped those. I am considering adding the belt loops though. I think it would give the dress a nice additional detail. One thing I’m considering changing about the fit is moving the shoulders in towards the neck. They feel just on the verge of too wide.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention when I first posted that I also lengthened the dress. I cut the length for the largest size and then added a few inches and a little extra curve to the hem after that. I didn't adjust the paper pattern at all. I just cut it longer. Not a great example of note taking. If you add length, don't forget to also add length to the interfacing for the button panel too. Anyway, adding length is a standard adjustment for me as I'm 5'11".
The pattern calls for using snaps to close the front of the dress (I think to cut down on the sewing time). I have an overflowing button collection and have never been successful setting snaps so I went for buttons. As this is just a muslin, I chose some vintage but not so special buttons. I have at least 20 of these buttons and figured out I could use more of them by applying them in pairs. I love how the button pairs look and I think it makes this otherwise plain dress extra special.
Sadly, this dress totally wrong for the current season as it’s relatively cold in LA right now (finally! yay!). I won’t be able to wear it anytime soon, but I know that I’ll be able to come back to this pattern to build out my summer wardrobe.
