Sewing: Pink and Orange Empire Maxi Dress

I sewed this dress last year and May is the perfect time to wear it and share it, in keeping with Me Made May (#MMMay2015 #MeMadeMay2015), which is all about wearing more of the things we sew for ourselves. I wore this dress to church yesterday and I think this style would be great to wear to a wedding or summer bridal shower too. I sewed it with New Look pattern 6827, which appears to be out of print. I have always loved the empire waist line because I think it's really flattering and combined with a maxi length, creates the illusion of a taller me. At least that's my hope!

I made another version of this dress years and years ago in a black linen, which is such a classic look. This time I chose this vibrant fuchsia pink and orange (one of my favorite color combinations!) animal print linen. I purchased this fabric at Jo-Ann last year and it doesn't look like it's available any longer, but they have some other great solid colors and prints right now.

I am not big on accessorizing most of the time but I felt like this dress needed something to I shopped the bead aisle and Jo-Ann and threw together this necklace. If you look closely you'll see beading is not really my thing! I should figure out a better way to re-construct this...

This dress is so easy to wear. I lined it with a lightweight cotton so I don't have to worry about it being sheer, and the linen/cotton combination is nice and cool in the summer. The fit of the bodice isn't very close to perfect, and of course I was super compulsive about sewing this when I did, so I didn't make a muslin first. I'm going to make some adjustments if I sew another one. I'm actually in the process of making my own slopers right now so that I have the information I need to sew a perfect fit everytime. Dreamy, right?!

I'm hoping there are more sewn dresses in my future.

I think Scarlett in the Vintage Zoo Dress I sewed for Audrey years ago is a nice complement to my new dress. That Zoo Dress is one of my favorite projects--I love the zoo fabric and the combination of corals and reds. I'm so glad she likes to wear it.

Thanks to Audrey for taking these pictures. I think she prefers that side of the lens. Can't say I blame her.

We're more than half way through May. Are you wearing "me-made"? I need to add some more to my wardrobe in order to wear it! Hoping to sew one or two things before the month is out.