My Staple Dress

I had a fun time sewing up April Rhodes' Staple Dress.  I purchased the pattern awhile ago, and finally had time to give it a try.  The pattern and directions were super and easy to follow. The dress is awesome with inseam pockets and a shirred waistband!  I made mine from some nautical fabric I found at Hancock's.  I have this theory for my first go at a new pattern; I alway use inexpensive fabric or an old sheet.  Once I have the pattern down, I jump into the super cute fabric.

 It was the perfect dress for a day on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk!

OK, so what I learned while sewing the dress.  I accidentally made my dress way too short, as I'm sure you can tell in the pictures.  It was way too long and then I somehow chopped it off too much.  Hmm...not sure what I did wrong, maybe didn't add in my hem allowance correctly?  To correct the problem, I added bias tape to the bottom as a hem and then to the sleeves to balance the hem.  I also think the top is a wee bit too big, so next time I'll try a size down.  I already have new fabric (April Rhodes, no less) waiting to be cut and sewn!

Want to make your own Staple Dress?  I'll be teaching a workshop at Sew Memphis on September 20.  Sign-up and details here!