Yay!  I have a new dress to share on my blog today!  I was over the moon when Caroline of Sew Caroline invited me to be part of her blog tour promoting her very first dress pattern, the Out and About Dress!

I have really started to gain some confidence in sewing for myself so I was up for the challenge and couldn’t wait to add another handmade dress to my closet!  Here is my version of the Out and About Dress…

I’m pretty much in LOVE!  I have never really worn maxi dresses before but with this pattern, I wanted to give it a try since it was one of the many options included in the pattern.  I could have matched the stripes a little better on the side but oh well.  I still love it?

I found this awesome knit at Angel Textiles in the LA Fabric district. I keep trying to convince them to start an online store but haven’t had any luck yet. I basically get about 75% of all my fabric from them so if I could ever convince them to do it I would be in heaven! Anyways, this knit is super thick and kind of has a ribbed texture to it so I was a little worried about the gathered waist and didn’t want it to end up looking too bulky. I really wanted to use this fabric because I love it so much and I happened to have 3 yards of it already so it was perfect.

As you can see I decided to go ahead and change the waist and take out all of the gathers using the slash and spread technique.  I learned how to do this from this awesome tutorial by Mie of Sewing Like Mad.  I kept the length exactly the same and the width at the bottom exactly the same and only changed the width at the waist.  It was actually very easy to do.  I plan to do a gathered waist version as well once I get my hands on some more knit fabric that is a little thinner than what I used for this dress.

I decided to do the elbow length sleeve instead of the long sleeve option since it feels like spring is finally here!  I can see myself wearing this dress ALL THE TIME while out and about with the kids.  It is soooo super comfy and I just love it!  As you have probably already noticed I haven’t hemmed the dress properly yet.  I wasn’t sure how long I wanted it at the time I made it and then I just got back from a quick trip to CA and just haven’t had the chance to hem it yet.  My good friend Gloria from Gloria Plunkett Photography snapped these photos for me while I was in CA over the weekend.  Thank you, Gloria!

This pattern was such a joy to make.  The pattern pieces fit together beautifully and the instructions and illustrations were so clear and easy to understand.  This is a great beginner project and a great introduction into sewing with knits.  I have plans to make lots and lots of Out and About Dresses.

I also got eyelash extensions from an eyelash extensions salon to add the volume of my lashes to make my whole look more attractive.

Hope you love my version as much as I do!  Thank you so much for inviting me on the tour Caroline!  What a wonderful pattern!

Be sure you check out all of the amazing bloggers sharing their versions of the Out and About Dress!  Lots and lots of inspiration!