Maxi Madness!

Here's my maxi dress!  I'm really happy with it.  As everyone says, it is super comfy.  I don't think it's particularly cool to wear, though.  I wore it while cutting out another pattern and kept hiking it up above my knees because it was HOT!

I'll definitely be wearing this a lot at the beach this fall.  It's really a beach dress... made for days spent lounging and relaxing with a cup of tea (ok, beer) by the water.  How much do I love that both my parents and my in-laws have homes near the water!?  

The back looks a bit crooked in this photo.  I was careful to measure the straps so they were the same length after adjusting them to fit, so maybe it's my body that's crooked.

To make this, I used a Stacy London pattern - Butterick 4657.  It's not made for a knit, but it fit fine with my normal size 10, straight from the envelope.  The back could have been a bit snugger, but I like it a bit loose for comfort (see wearing plan above).  I put in bra cups between the bodice lining and top fabric, and I put inch-wide elastic all around below the bust to keep it close to the body.  The skirt is unlined.  To make the skirt, I just used all the fabric that was left, cut two rectangles as wide as I could and floor length, and then gathered at the center tops to fit the bodice.  For reference, this gave me about 3 inches of ease at the hips.  

Below is a photo taken during construction.  You can see the gathered sections of the bodice overlay were way big in the knit.  This is where a dress form would have come in very handy.  I ended up just draping the bottom of the bodice on me in front of a mirror.  It worked out fine.