Row of White Buttons Dress: Simplicity 1460 Pattern Hack

Well guess what? I made a dress! And. . . It Fits!! Major amazingness!

Okay, so. . . Details:

This is another simple pattern hack. For the bodice I used Simplicity 1460  view B with the peter pan collar. 

The skirt I "repurposed" from a previous failed dressmaking attempt and it is just a circle skirt. For whatever reason this top fit me right out of the envelope.

I used a straight size 16 with no adjustments.

The only thing I changed was the number of buttons. As many of you will know, button-up shirts can have the tendency to gape across the bust. There are many ways to resolve this issue, but I just went ahead and used more buttons for simplicity's sake.

I also completely underlined the bodice (for those unfamiliar with underlining, here is a link that explains it.) so that there would be no chance of it being see-through. I used an old sheet I picked up from a thrift store a while back for both the bodice and the underlining. (Random Trivia: This dress is actually made out of two circle skirts. The yellow sheet was originally made into a circle skirt before I reused it for this. So this dress is doubly repurposed!)

The skirt is lovely for twirling in.

Here are a few interior details:

The facing was tacked to the shoulder seam.

I finished the edges with a simple zig-zag stich.

For the last button hole that was not on the bodice I put in a bit of interfacing to
help with durability and make it easier to sew.

Row of nicely made machine buttonholes. The special button hole foot
really helps make this aspect of sewing easy.

I also added a strip of scrap bias binding around the waist seam to both
finish and reenforce the seam.

Since I have finished this dress I have made a blouse from this pattern.  Both are "wearable muslins" because they both have a few things on them that I will do differently on my next ones. Yes there will be more. You will probably be good and tired of this pattern soon!

Well, that is it!

~Emily