Seersucker Hawthorn Shirt Dress

After my last make in the ‘Winter is Coming’ wardrobe I decided I was getting really tired of making things I can’t wear right this instant. Sooo….

BEHOLD!  My extraordinarily late to the game Hawthorn.  I bought this pattern during the release sale THREE years ago and this is my first attempt at making it!  I’m kicking myself I didn’t make it sooner, because this is the perfect dress for Charleston 😦
Funny enough, the fabric is even older than the pattern.  I bought this traditional blue and white seersucker very shortly after I learned to sew from the now defunct Hancock… I can’t even remember what I originally intended to make with it!

On to the construction!  I cut my standard size 12 for the Colette patterns, although if I put on any more weight I’m going to need a new size! During the muslin-ing phase I did a 1 inch FBA…. which is becoming fairly standard for me.  The Hawthorn sewalong helpfully provided a tutorial with lots of pictures.  I added a side bust dart, per their suggestions, but did not split the main dart (too much math!).  It’s still a little loose in the shoulders and arm scythe…. I may try doing a narrow shoulder adjustment in the future.

I ran into some bumps in the road while actually sewing the dress which I’ll share with you, dear reader partly because they’re good information and partly because you can laugh at my frustrations! 😉

The collar…. le sigh!  I cut it out carefully, assembled it carefully (stripe matching and everything)- only to find when I tried to attach it, it was short….by a lot.  I briefly considered soldiering ahead, but then thought better of it
After some investigating on the sewalong (which I REALLY should’ve done from the begining) I discovered others had had the same issue…. Ms. Sarai did respond to the comments so it could be this has been fixed in subsequent printings.  I was able to re-cut the collar and per others suggestions sewed it together with 1/4 seam allowance instead of the standard 5/8…. worked like a charm!

This next one is ALL user error!  I had sewn the back panels together and got started attaching the first front panel… I carefully spent 30-40 minutes, with no AC in 90 degree (32 degrees Celsius for literally anyone not American) temperatures ...inside, matching the stripes, carefully pinning, sewing, unpicking, re-sewing, unpicking & re-sewing again.  At the end of this ordeal I proudly unfurled my new enlarged skirt panel… only to find I had sewed it on backwards!!! [insert all the curse words]  Dejected, I unpicked the panel, downloaded Pokemon Go, went out to dinner & alcohol, and then spent an hour catching Pokemon. 😦

On the other hand, sewing the button holes went surprising well… mostly because my local fabric store took pity on me and let me use a super fancy Bernina to make them, after hearing I was going to be using my four-step button hole “function” for 13 button holes (also, FYI only did 12, because I’m short).

And let me tell you… that thing was AWESOME!!  It literally did everything, short of patting me and the back and tell me I was doing a great job! ….and now I want one 😦
Which I’m sure was all part of their master plan 😉

Also…JUST LOOK AT THAT PATTERN MATCHING!! Magnificent bastard!

And thus concludes my newest summer dress… I think even up here in the Mountains this should get a lot of use 🙂

Also, all pictures of me in the dress were taken by my good friend Candace (she of the wedding dress alterations) at her Mom’s Bed & Breakfast.  So, if you’re looking for a weekend getaway with beautiful views and delicious homemade food, you should definitely visit!