Chic Everyday Dress

I found The Chic Everyday Dress pattern while searching for dress patterns on Etsy. I have loved and used The Sweet Little Dress pattern several times, and I wanted a similar pattern for the winter. A pattern that would have long sleeves and a little length. I knew I could always add length to any dress I choose, but I wasn't sure that I could construct a Sweet Little Dress with long sleeves successfully. While debating in my head what to do, I stumbled across this very inexpensive pattern. ManiMina has thousands of positive review, so before giving myself a headache figuring out long sleeves, I thought I'd give it a go.



Overall I was pleased with the Chic Everyday Dress that I created. I chose to do the size 5 dress because I wanted to make sure it was long enough, but I could have done the size 4. I also was disappointed when the instructions said that one yard of fabric would be enough to do a size 4 - 6 dress, but really I needed a yard an a half. Luckily I had 2 yards of lovely Woodland Delight by Paula Prass that I think fits my style - bright and bold.



I wish the sleeves flared more, but this is mostly my fault for choosing the larger dress size. I ended up needing to shorten the sleeves so they wouldn't be too long for Grace. By shortening the sleeves, I ruined the flare.



I omitted the ribbon and added elastic to the bias tape casing around the body of the dress like in the Miss Madeline Dress. I wanted a tie in the front because I thought it added a cute element to the look, so I used bias tape instead of ribbon. It felt like it would be sturdier. The elastic and bias tape combo reminded me of the waist on the Twirly Skirt by Erin at House on Hill Road.



This was not a difficult pattern to sew. However, if you are new to sewing or are attempting a dress for the first time, I would suggest starting with The Sweet Little Dress. The instructions and pictures in The Sweet Little Dress pattern will make sewing the Chic Everyday Dress much easier.