Kitty made this dress in May and reported on it here. I loved it so much I thought I’d give it a try myself. At the time, Kitty brought the neckline up by 3/4″ and adjusted the back waist to be more curve-hugging. I thought I’d give it a try without any modifications.

This pattern is ridiculously easy! There are only 3 pattern pieces – 1 for the front, 1 for the back, and 1 tiny piece for the elastic. Normally I cut a size 14, but thought I’d follow Kitty’s lead and cut it in a 12 to be more fitted. The finished sizes are printed on the pattern, so you can make a rough guess as to what size to cut depending on how much ease you’d like. Stretchy knits look great with little ease, so I’m glad I cut the 12.

The dress is easy to construct. You sew the back together down the center seam. Then you sew the front pieces to the side and shoulder seams without sewing the front center seam. You then finish the neckline. (I folded the fabric over twice forming about a 1/4″ narrow hem and straight stitched it down.) Then you sew the center front seam. Next you add the casing for the elastic and finish the sleeve and bottom hems. That’s it!

You could probably play with the placement of of the elastic, depending on your bust size. Just try the dress on before sewing on the casing and you can determine where the gathers might look the best on you. I did this and found that the elastic placement was just fine as it was.

I made this dress from an ITY knit purchased last year from Fabric Mart Fabrics. I used a stretch needle size 70. I use a small zig-zag stitch for most seams and a 3.5mm straight stitch for top-stitching. I found that the zig-zag stitch stretched out the fabric too much for top-stitching.

Next time, I might adjust the back center seam at the waist (make the waist narrower) to give it more shape, but I don’t find it absolutely necessary.

What a super easy and quick dress to make! And I love the finished look. I will definitely make another one of these this summer. Thanks, Kitty, for bringing this pattern to my attention!