Easy DIY Maxi dress

As the temperatures begin to rise outside, I have really wanted to start making dresses for the summer.  It will be here soon and I love to wear lots of dress in the summer.  I don't really have any from last summer since I was very pregnant with my July baby.

After searching through Pinterest for maxi dress patterns, I came across one that I really loved. This is the dress that I found and thought looked really simple to make.

http://sweet-verbena.blogspot.com/2011/07/boho-maxi-dress-tutorial.html

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 2 yards of knit fabric and started to make my dress.  I followed her instructions except I washed the fabric first.  I always wash my fabric to make sure it is not going to shrink or do anything else funky after being washed and dried.  The fabric I washed did shrink some so I am really glad I took the time to wash and dry it.

I then carefully laid out the fabric and pinned it down three sides, leaving the bottom open.  Next, I cut the neck as she instructed down 6 inches and the arm holes 8 inches.  When I did this, I pinned the tape measure down to make sure the inch line did not move up or down and make for an uneven dress.The arms were perfect, but the neck is where I had to do some modifications.  I know that she wanted to do a modest neckline but I found it very restrictive and it made me think of a hospital gown.  That is never a look that I want to go for.  Hospital chic is never in!  I also took the time to finish the ends.  I hemmed the arms and neck with a 1/4" hem.

For all of the hems, I did a zig zag stitch to help with the give of the knit fabric.  It was stitch 4 on my machine.

For the neck, I was not a fan of the restrictive v neck.  I just began to play with it and cut a scoop neck only in the front leaving the back as is.  I ended up with a wide scoop neck that was much more flattering and hemmed it also to a 1/4" hem.

For the bottom, I hemmed it to a 1/2" hem after cutting about 5 inches off because it was so long on me.  I am just over five feet tall so there was a lot of fabric left at the bottom.  I highly suggest having a friend, or wonderful hubby in my case help you with this part.  My husband just cut a slit to the point I directed him to so that I could make the final cut.  He was worried about messing it up but he did a great job!

All in all, I think I have a great dress for the summer that I can run errands in and go to church.  I am not much for wearing shorts and I love to wear all types of summer dresses.  I am excited to start working on my next dress project for the summer.