Swingin' 70s Pool Party Dress

CAbi Sigourney Skirt ($98)

 Isn't this the cutest dress for summer? Last weekend, I went to a CAbi end-of-season sale (50-70% off? Yes, please!) and tried it on. The sample was a little....generous(?) in the bust, but after looking at the simple construction, I figured I'd try my hand at making my own.

It took nearly 1-1/2 yards of 60" lycra which I draped around Betty (my dress form), sewed up a tube with a generous six inches of ease and then I wrapped a halved  60"L x 16"W length of fabric around Betty's bust, sewed up two side seams, added a casing with elastic, eased the skirt to fit the top and popped it over my head. I was done in less than three hours for less than $20! I felt like I'd just completed a quick Project Runway challenge. LOL

This dress can also be worn as a longer-length skirt, so I'm looking forward to mixing and matching with my vast assortment of cardis and tanks. The overall pattern covers a myriad of figure flaws and it packs down to practically nothing for travel. It's a keeper!

This is the second of the five dresses I whipped up this month. I'd forgotten that I'd already showed you one during Me-Made-June. This is my favourite dress of them all.

I wore this to a party last night, and a girlfriend who's style I adore wants one for herself! What a great compliment! It's been over eight months since I sewed for someone else (it's against my selfish sewist nature) but I'm going to buy the fabric today. I'm pretty sure this will add up to positive karma points offsetting my future shennanigans. Plus, she's going to look gorgeous! A win/win in my book.