The past few weeks have held a lot of sewing for me – mostly house dresses, which I am motivated to make now while they will still fit me, and then saved for the end of summer when I can fit into them again.

This one was made from a pattern I got more recently, and used a pretty print from JoAnn which I've been saving for a while. I like it so much I wish I had gotten enough for two dresses! It has tiny white polka dots scattered, and peach flowers, so it combines two favorite prints – polka dots and florals!

I used the white dot motif for the collar, which has white embroidered dots on it. I like how the collar comes down more square in the front, although it comes down farther than I expected. As a result, I only had room for two buttons, and have to pin it at the top.

The pockets on the original pattern were pretty cute and I want to do them sometime, but I didn't have enough fabric for them so I improvised, cutting out shaped pockets from the piece I had left. I didn't realize until after I had put the skirt together that the pockets totally blended in to the skirt fabric and were invisible. Too late to put white trim on it – unless I crocheted trim the right length, so that both ends were finished already.

So that's what I did, and tacked each piece of lace down on the inside of the pocket with the points peeking out. I based the lace from a vintage pattern from 1937. They make the pockets much more visible, and add a touch of white to tie in the collar.

I may have had enough fabric after all if I'd shortened the skirt pieces when cutting them out. The pattern said no hem allowance had been made, but I trimmed it and hemmed it 2 1/2 inches and it still is quite long!

(My shoes are the right style for this dress, but I definitely need to add a stark white pair to coordinate with dresses like this!)

It was a very speedy project. I cut it out one day and put the skirt together, the next day did the bodice and final fitting, and on the 3rd day all I had to do was the zipper and hand stitch the hems. 

I have some minor fit issues which I would correct on another version, but otherwise have no complaints. It is a perfect summer dress addition to my wardrobe, since it's cheerily floral, yet dark enough that I don't have to layer underneath. A pity I won't fit into it during the hottest months, but it will still be plenty warm here in the High Desert after the baby is born, too.