Another month, another fabric that has been in my stash for far too long! This dress was my monthly “Sew My Stash” project for May of this year. I’m not sure why I chose to use the same pattern for 2 of my 12 planned makes for this year, but I don’t regret it a bit! Thanks to the cotton jersey, my April version of this dress is a bit more casual, and my favorite way to wear it is with my denim jacket and a pair of casual sandals. This one, however, feels a little more sassy – it is comfy enough that I can wear it for any occasion, but I also feel pretty in it. If the husband and I could coordinate a date night a bit more often, I think I’d be reaching for this and a pair of chunky heel sandals!
I fell in love with the colors and print of this fabric back in 2017 – this was my first ever experience ordering from Minerva, and I remember thinking I was ~tres chic~ ordering fabric from overseas. In my sheer excitement, I wildly chose a very random hodgepodge assortment of fabrics: a wine colored sweatshirt knit that became a very loved Toaster Sweater, a shimmery stretch knit that became my first Blackbird Cardigan, and this floral scuba crepe. Quite the range of colors, textures, and seasonal fabrics. The two sweaters were sewn up fairly quickly (incredibly quickly, in comparison to this one!) and are still in regular rotation today. But this one, arguably the most glorious of the fabrics from that order, was still languishing away, looking pretty on my shelf. It was time.
You may remember that while my first go at the Leona Dress certainly turned out comfortable and wearable, I ultimately had to go back and make some tweaks to the fit under the arms to decrease some pretty notable gaping. With that version, I essentially opened the lining up back out of the dress and took out a pretty sizeable wedge at the underarm, grading back to the original seam at the bust line of both the main and lining pieces. This made the dress much nicer looking to wear, but I felt like I needed to figure out a better solution moving forward. For this version, I sized down a full size from my first, and took out a slightly larger seam allowance through the underarm area. This was a great choice, and resulted in a better fitting, less bulky garment right off the bat – no after the fact tweaks needed!
I’m thrilled to have finally pulled this fabric off the shelf and into a wearable garment. As is so common with us sewists, I am constantly distracted by the bright shiny new thing and forget that I have a wardrobe’s worth of beautiful fabrics available at my fingertips, right in my sewing room. If only I’d sew it! So here’s to that 5 year old fabric in your stash – get it out and make something pretty!
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: Tammy Handmade – Leona Dress
Fabric: Minerva – Floral Scuba Crepe (from 2017 – now sold out! Some other ideas can be found here)
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Jersey Ballpoint Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Heat & Bond Soft Stretch (Lite)
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this pattern! Both the pattern and fabric used in this garment were purchased by me. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
