Happy almost-end-of-April!! Before the month comes to a close, here’s my April edition of Monthly Make My Stash 2020. This fabric was always meant to be a Flora dress, but as with many of the projects I’ve prioritized this year, just got pushed back over and over and over again! I’m so glad that I not only finally got around to sewing this fabric into something wearable, but also that I stuck to my original plan – it is the perfect match!
From the moment I picked out this fabric, I imagined this dress on a warm, balmy evening drinking margaritas on the porch of my favorite Tex-Mex place. Now that I’ve finally taken this from flat fabric to 3-D, it looks like I’m going to have to wait a little longer for those margarita dreams! I actually finished it the Saturday night before Easter Sunday, thinking that I’d show it off to my husband the next day and then hang it up in my closet indefinitely. We had no big Easter plans – in fact, with everything being so unusual lately, I hadn’t even realized that Easter was coming up until the Wednesday before! So we planned to just cook up something we already had at the house, stay in our comfy clothes and maybe take a family walk through the neighborhood before I left for my night shift in the evening.
The next morning, we sat down and had what I called a “big breakfast” when I was little – bacon, eggs, and pancakes with juice and coffee. We relaxed and spent the morning enjoying each others’ company, and then little one went down for her nap. When she woke up, I decided even if we were just spending time at home, it would at least delight our families to see some pictures of our little girl in a pretty dress for Easter, so I pulled one of her fancy things out of the closet and got her all dressed up for the day! Good thing, too – this dress wasn’t going to fit much longer! We snapped a few pics in her room, and then I brought her downstairs. My husband loved it, and suggested we all get dressed and get some family photos together. Even if it was a weird Easter, we’d want the memories.
While it may not have been the fajitas and margaritas and endless chips and salsa on the porch that I’d imagined, this dress made it out of the house and it was absolutely perfect. We had an unwarranted amount of fun taking pictures outside in the fresh air together, and it ended up being such a fun Easter celebration! Sometimes, you just need to take those lemons and make some sweet, sweet lemonade.
A couple quick notes on this dress – it is the By Hand London Flora Dress, which I’ve made twice in the past. Previously, I’d sewn a size 6, but a quick try-on of an older version let me know that my post-baby bod isn’t quite there yet. I fell between an 8 and a 10 on the size chart, so I went ahead and sized up to a 10. It’s a little big – this is a mistake I seem to make a lot, lately. Sizing a little too far up in fear that I’ll end up with a too-snug piece! – but not so much so to be unwearable. I planned to break up the print with a white belt, which also helps to pinch the waist in a bit, too!
I chose the high-low skirt option, and love the way it turned out! My favorite detail of this garment is the box pleats on the back of the skirt – I love the way it poufs out over my backside. I do find that the knife pleats at the front are a little lack-luster in comparison, so I wonder if I might want to think of a way to change up that design element next time around. (Any ideas? I’d love to hear them!).
I hope you enjoyed my April make, and had as wonderful a stay-at-home Easter as my family and I did! I’m wrapping up my last couple of April projects right now, and will be cutting into my May fabric soon – a beautiful, floral rayon crepe that is destined to be a Phoenix Blouse! What do you have on your sewing table??
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: By Hand London – Flora Dress – Variation 2
Fabric: Art Gallery Fabrics – Fiesta Fun Mexican Dress Midnight by Dana Willard (now sold out)
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker / Serger
Schmetz Universal 70/30 Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Thank you so much for visiting my blog today and supporting my creative side – both my sewing and my sharing! Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
