Color Recipes for Spring - Butterick 6018

Dear Readers, 

           I decided to participate in Emily's Color Recipes for Spring contest at the very end. As I have mentioned before, I have been terribly busy, and I did not think that I would be able to come up with an entry. (I also forgot about it until Esther from Dolly Creates mentioned it in one of her recent posts.) Needless to say, I found time. . . After Emily extended the deadline by three days. Seriously, I would not have been able to consider participating if she had not done that. So, thank you Emily!

        I originally spotted this fabric at my local Joann store some time ago. Being the poor child that I am, the $6/yd price was far out of my range. I do not make a habit of buying fabric that is over $2 or $3 per yard. This does limit my choices to the red tag clearance section and to excellent sales that pop up every now and then, but it has never been a problem. Until now. . .

I wanted this fabric. I really wanted this fabric. But $36 was too much to consider paying for one dress. I placed the fabric back on the shelf and continued on my merry way. Sales came and went, but still I could not justify the exorbitant price.

Then, one day, all the quilting cottons were on sale for 50% off ticket price. The coveted fabric that I had considered buying multiple times was finally within my budget. 

I originally planned to only buy three yards, because that is the standard amount I buy for dresses when I do not have a previous plan in mind. There was a little over four yards left on the bolt, so it all came home with me. It is actually a good thing that I bought that extra yard. It would have been possible to squeeze this dress out of three yards (I did it on this dress), but much more complicated. This way I had enough left over to make my little sister a summery top.

I am quite happy with the fit and overall style of this dress on me. I have plans for at least one more. I made a few minor adjustments to the pattern that I did not think would work, but they did!

The skirt is just amazing. It is full enough, but not so full that you knock over things when you walk by.

Aren't these flowers beautiful?

And here is a close-up of this beautiful fabric:

Details for the Avid Seamstress:

Fabric: Quilting cotton from Joann. You can find it here.

Notions: Standard zipper and lace from the stash.

Pattern: Butterick 6018 view B

Notes: I added a FBA to the bodice pieces. It was not a standard FBA because I just added the length and width that I thought I would need according to my measurements, but, as I said above, it was just right. I also trimmed the neckline down into more of a sweetheart neckline because I could not get the original version to lay quite right. The waist could be a shave smaller, but at the moment it is nipped in without disabling me from eating a decent meal. When I finished the dress for my sister, I was afraid that I would not be able to adjust it to fit my body shape without ruining the overall design. I am quite happy to report that my fears were unnecessary! I raised the neckline by two inches and left off the buttons down the front because I did not have the correct style. I planned to have sleeves, but when I tested them they were too tight and I did not have sufficient fabric to recut them. I am actually glad that they did not work. Having this dress sleeveless will make it much more comfortable during the summer months and it can transition smoothly into colder weather when I add a sweater or cardigan.

~Emily