The Jamie Dress

This weekend, Karrie, her mom and I went to the historic St. Paul Hotel for an afternoon tea and fundraiser for the St. Paul City Ballet (my ballet school!). Between courses of tiny foods, mini fashion shows and raffles, we discussed our latest book for bookclub: A Room with a View.

I haven't had an excuse to dress up in a few years and as a result, none of my dresses quite fit me anymore. Rather than buy a new dress, I decided it was time to try making one.




The pattern is the fabulous Jamie Dress designed by Jennifer Paganelli. The fabric is Fantasia Poppies in Grey/Lime. The sash is a thin cotton sateen and the bodice is lined with dupioni silk. The sweater is from Target.




The only reason I was able to make this dress (in time for the tea or at all!) is because of Jennifer's gorgeous pattern. Her directions are clear and easy to understand and the dress came together quickly. I estimate it took about 20 hours from printing the pattern to wearing the finished dress. I have no idea if that's a long time or not but for a first dress, I'm inclined to say that it's not too bad.

I made just a few alterations to the pattern:
-I raised the front bodice by about 1"...I didn't want to be too scandalous at the tea!
-I continued the ruched sash to the back bodice.
-I made the shoulder straps half as wide.

I highly recommend this pattern for anyone looking to make a versatile and flattering dress. I'm already making plans to re-make it in other fabrics. I have a killer red/black shot dupioni silk that would be perfect for an evening out on the town. Whatever that is...

And since I'm excited to make dresses, can anyone recommend an easy-ish dress pattern that you absolutely love to make? Not that I mind having a million Jamie dresses but, you know...a girl needs options!