Linen Petal Dress Creation

I have a few cuts of fabric that are solely dedicated for when I need a quick filler project to get my sewing fix. Yes, I am addicted, no, no help is needed. These two linen fabrics I’ve had for a while now, and finally decided to put this look together.

The petal style skirt was inspired by a look of Michelle Obama’s a few years ago – I love the idea of scallops without the actual hem being curved. The visual interest of this is something that I don’t see in most clothing stores except very expensive ones – because the seams cannot be set by machine, they must be worked by a seamstress.

 

To start – all the petals!

Full disclosure – I did mash-up two Butterick patterns for this dress to make the whole process as quick as possible: B5707 for the bodice and B5894 for the skirt.

 

 

 

At this point, the skirt is nearing completion. After I did all the decorative stitches, I attached the hem of the black linen around all the curves of the petals. Once each side was done, I stitched up the sides and put the decorative stitch over the side seams.

The bodice was fun to work with and sewed up rather quick. I adore the box corners on the bodice and the kimono style sleeves.

All that’s left is the keyhole neckline, which just required a quick rolled seam at the opening. I added a bit of decorative stitching to add visual interest to the bodice because it felt a bit flat.

Then just sew the bodice and the skirt together, throw in a zipper, and voile: dress!