Summer Halter Dress

It has been so hot lately, wearing anything is almost too much: light and floaty dresses are the order of the day.

This one was a bit "make it up as you go along" pattern-wise. For the halterneck part, I used the Tallulah dress bodice from Sis Boom's Girls World.  I actually bought this beautiful book to make dresses for my two year old; the pattern pieces, though, go up to age 12-14 years, but being quite flat-chested this worked out perfectly for - the slightly older than Fourteen - me!

The fabric for the skirt I just folded on the bias and literally cut a curved hole for my body, and another for the hem! As it's cut on the bias there's no gathering but there is plenty of swirl.

Perfect for playing the princess, twirling around in the garden.

I made a separate wide panel for the back bodice. I have no idea how big, I just eyeballed it and used thick elastic to ensure a snug fit to the back. Then, I simply sewed the bodice onto the skirt.

I really enjoyed making this. As I was essentially winging it, I didn't worry one jot whether I was sewing it up correctly - I just had a go. It was a fun make, and it's rather fun to wear too.

The flowery fabric is a really cheap cotton, only £2pm from Fabricland. And it was the cheapness which inspired me to take a risk and play with the fabric.

The bodice fabric is a beautiful piece of jade silk, the tiniest odd-shaped remnant from my grandmother's stash. (This was left over from a dress she made me when I was a teenager, which I still have - and it still fits! I may pop it up on the blog to show you, as it is beautiful.)

I lined my dress with a piece of white linen bed-sheet that is butter-soft and wafer-thin from at least sixty years of constant use.

Perfect summer dress to pose in, with an ice lolly.  I can't wait to road test it down the beach and have a paddle.

Seeing how well this has turned out I may make another just as a top, or maybe a maxi length one.