This skirt was once a dress (maybe this one), but it was a failure of a first attempt and the fit of the bodice was just wrong. So wrong that I haven’t attempted a second version. Thankfully, the bottom half skimmed my hips well, so I chopped it off and inserted some elastic. (The chopped-skirt-with-waistband-added is one of my favorite re-fashion tricks.)

I was bored of those filing cabinets, so I found an empty hallway and started working my angles! (You are welcome, world.)

This dress pattern is M6465, but I call it (and every variation since) my Snow Day Dress. The fabric is a silk(?) purchased at Les Fabriques (a local shop with a great selection of apparel fabrics). My only compliant is that it keeps me too warm, especially when belted – for that reason this is a transitional season dress, or a winter layering piece.

This dress is Burda 7798 and let me say up front that I hate the photos on the pattern envelope! If I hadn’t been looking for a very specific dress shape, I never would have considered it. This is four years old, and I wear it constantly during the summer, despite so many problems – which will be evident when I’m not disguising them with a cardigan.

Problems like the too-high empire waist, lack of waist definition, and the frumpy back. Waist  adjustments have been made for a winter update of this pattern, where I lengthened the bodice and added a FBA, and I’m beginning to wonder if I need to start adding swayback or some other adjustment to all of my dresses. (Bodies! They’re all different!)

A new version of this dress – sleeveless, but with the recent adjustments – is at the top of my summer sewing queue. Depending on how much sewing time I find, you might see it before the end of May!

Oh hi! This is a pair of blue pumps away from being a modified 80s power suit, and I sort of love that.

Skirt is M6654 in an “athletic” knit from Jo-Ann fabric. Top is a lightweight cotton from Les Fabriques and another version of my ikat shirt.

Are we done? Is this it? Oh, I guess for this blog post, but I have TWENTY THREE MORE DAYS of wearing me-made items and inconspicuously taking photographs. (The next four days I’ll be visiting family, so expect my 4-year-old nephew to make a cameo in one of the shots!)