Amalfi Dress with Indiesew

My family and I traveled quite a bit this summer.  With two boys and a pop-up camper, we have been driving all over the midwest (with another adventure planned later this fall!)  We just got back from camping along Lake Ontario (close to Niagara Falls) and every sunset reminded me of this Retro Striped Cotton Linen fabric from Indiesew.  It has such a gorgeous soft palette with a 70s vibe which made it a perfect pairing with the relaxed fit of the Amalfi Dress designed by Hey June Handmade.

Linen is perfect for these dog days of summer with its breathability and soft feel.  This blend with cotton gives it a bit more structure so it doesn’t wrinkle as easily as 100% linen does. The best part of linen is how it gets even softer with each wear and washing, not to mention it’s an easier woven to sew versus a rayon challis or crepe.

With the Amalfi dress, I decided on the flutter sleeves with the throwback feel of this stripe print.  I debated for awhile whether to make the midi or short skirt length and since I’m short with wide calves, midi lengths cut me at my widest point and make legs looks larger than they are.  So I opted for the short length and hemmed it a full 1″ to get it to the right spot above my knees.

With the fabric being described as “semi-opaque,” I wasn’t sure how that would translate for  dress.  But sure enough, It’s fine!  After washing, the fibers contract closely together and only the cream parts have the slightest bit of transparency.  I made sure to have the darker parts of the striping across my rear, just in case.  With nude colored undergarments, you can’t see a thing!

Any dress pattern with pockets gets and extra star in my book.  I LOVE these deep in-seam pockets!  With the fullness of the skirt, you don’t have to worry about odd bulges when you are made to carry your kid’s actions figures and Pokemon cards.

You know I made sure to match my stripes 😉  It takes more time, so much more patience and lots of extra pins, but this is the beauty of home sewing.  I love how the skirt looks and you can hardly tell there are pockets at all.  When matching the bodice, I did match the stripes at the armscye.  But with the bust dart, it throws off the pattern just a little bit…but that’s what your arms cover!

Since I am petite, V-necks tend to lay low on me and I was very happy to see I didn’t have to make any adjustments to this neckline.  It’s the perfect depth to fit over your head while still being modest and keeping the “ladies” hidden.  I like the neck facing to keep these lines nice and crisp.

The elastic waist is such a great feature.  I love the shaping and this dress will move with weight fluctuations.  I happen to be a bit heavier right now (thanks to all of those campfire hotdogs and s’mores,) so I’ve been making garments with a bit more ease or have elastic.  Thank goodness for  stretch!

I received so many compliments with this Amalfi dress already.  My husband even said it was such a pretty print!  I hope you enjoy making this dress or just pick up some of your own Retro Striped fabric!

Project Summary:

 

Happy Sewing!

Cristy

 

Fabric was provided by Indiesew for this blog post.  All thoughts and opinions are always my own.

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