hot hot heat

after picking up wendy mullin's dress making book, i was inspired to pull out this polka dot dress that i started working on, ahem, a year ago, and finish it up.

i made this dress with no pattern (a first for me!). i loosely followed this tutorial and photo by maryy from burdastyle, and sort of made it up as i went along. it has a sort of sweetheart neckline (with a gathered front), and a very full skirt that starts right under the bodice. if you’re feeling fancy though, burdastyle later created this pattern which is similar to the dress, but honestly it’s so simple you could do it without a pattern.


to start, i made the bodice following mary’s tutorial, but only stitching up one side seam, and pinching and sewing the middle to create a sweetheart neckline. i did end up adding in 2 vertical darts to the bust to make the fit a little better. then i made a separate full skirt by sewing 2 really long rectangles of fabric together at the side seam (and adding a pocket). then i gathered it around the waist til it fit me, sewed it to the bodice, then added a long zipper in the side seam, attaching it all together.

and, sewing this dress inspired me to make 13 dresses this summer!