Deer and Doe Myosotis Dress (Mood Sewing Network)

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This is my first post for the Mood Sewing Network and I’m cutting it close to the deadline! See the end of the post for a discount code.*

Sometime last year I took out the Deer and Doe Myosotis dress pattern with the intention, of course, of making it.

But, as it often happens, for one reason or another I didn’t get around to it, it just sat on a shelf in my dining/cutting room for months.

 

 

Then, earlier this year, the world and my sewing came to a complete halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the beginning of the shelter-at-home order in my city, I thought for sure I was going to have the best wardrobe in NYC by the time the time it was over because I’ve been hoarding collecting fabric and patterns for years. But, friends, that did not and will not happen.

My sewing mojo, and my anything-other-than-just-exist mojo was gone.

I sewed nothing but two Victorian undergarments between March and the middle of July this year.

I needed some motivation.

 

Billowy knee length dress in mustard floral cotton voile

 

So, when Mood Fabrics posted that they were looking for a new batch of sewists for the Mood Sewing Network, I jumped at the opportunity and applied, fully expecting not to be selected.

But, alas, they did select me. Shoot, now I HAD to sew something!

So, I went on the Mood website, looking for pretty fabric, when I landed on this gorgeous cotton voile they call Mediterranean Dreams. It was perfect for a summer dress, even if I had nowhere to wear it.

The fabric is a wonderful mustard color (though it looks much more yellow on Mood’s website) with a light, airy yet crisp drape. It feels almost like silk.

I had a different pattern in mind, but when the fabric arrived I began to question the pairing.

That’s when the Myosotis came back into the picture.

 

Billowy knee length dress in mustard floral cotton voile from the back. Wicker bag hanging on right shoulder

 

I knew that the fabric would work well for this dress, specially because the lightness of the fabric would make for a nice, billowy skirt.

On this I was not wrong, it was pretty windy on the day of this photo shoot and I could hardly keep the skirt from being blown around.

I made muslin from muslin, then a wearable muslin (the fabric is not from Mood) and made fit adjustments along the way, just to make sure that by the time I cut into my “good” fabric everything would be worked out.

Still, I agonized over this; I didn’t want to screw up this beautiful fabric!

I made the Myosotis in the size 44 with a 1″ FBA (full bust adjustment). I also raised the bust darts 3/4″ because the apex on the wearable muslin was a bit too low, and moved them out about 1 1/4″ because they ended too close to my apex.

 

 

To give myself a bit more room at the waist, I am pretty apple-shaped, I made the waist darts a bit narrower than the original dart. That meant that I had the width the FBA added plus about 1/2″ per bodice piece (left and right) in addition to the original waist width. I hope that makes sense. In the end, the waist measurement of my dress is almost the same as that of the size 46. To accommodate for this, I cut the skirt and ruffle in the size 46.

I also moved the button/buttonhole line in towards the sides a bit because once you overlap the fronts, these lines do not match as marked on the pattern, and the buttons end up too close to the edge of the button band. This changes nothing as far as fit, the bodice pieces overlap the same, but it does make for a more aesthetically pleasing look.

The buttons are mother of pearl buttons from a local notions store.

 

 

I chose to do the skirt with the ruffle, because…ruffles. On the pattern, the instructions call for the skirt ruffle to be cut on the cross grain of the fabric – that is, down the length of the fabric – so that it fits if your fabric is narrower than 59″ (my wearable muslin fabric was wide enough for the ruffle to be cut on the width of the fabric).

But my fabric has a directional design, which meant that if I cut the ruffle as the instructions say, the flowers would be sideways. The fabric is 55″ wide and when I placed the ruffle pattern piece down (one for the front and one for the back), I only lost 1″ of width per piece, which, given how much gathering there is, is absolutely inconsequential.

Sometimes you have to make do with what you have, and if I had not told you this there is no way you could tell from the look of the finished garment.

 

Look at that swing!

 

Even though I was going for a billowy effect, I worried that the voile might be too sheer for the skirt. But I also worried that lining it would spoil the look.

In the end, I chose not to line it. The bodice is not sheer up against my skin, and I never wear dresses without shorts or a half-slip/pettipants underneath so it is not a big deal if the skirt is a bit sheer. But, as you can see from the photos, it’s not translucent at all.

For this shoot, I paired the dress with a few pieces I’ve had in my closet for quite some time.

The shoes are Steve Madden Jaylen sandals form a couple of years ago. They are now sold out/out of season. The hat is a souvenir from Dubrovnik, Croatia and it’s the first hat I’ve truly liked how it looks on me. I’ve posted photos with it before on Instagram.

 

 

The bag is the Frances Valentine Betsy wicker basket bag. Frances Valentine was started by the late Kate Spade, the same woman who started Kate Spade the brand.

The earrings are a cute pair of hoops with a large bee that I bought on Haute Look earlier this year.

I love how the dress came together and I love the combination of fabric and pattern. The wearable muslin, which I also love, has a slightly different look and feel just by virtue of having a different fabric. That one is more casual while this one can be dressed up a bit more.

So, I made two Myosotis dresses in the span on less than a week, and if I never have to gather anything again it will be too soon!

 

 


* Although Mood Fabrics provided me with store credit to purchase this fabric, all opinions are my own.

To get a 10% discount on your order from www.moodfabrics.com, use code MSNTSH2. Offer valid online only and does not expire. Discount applied at checkout. Not be combined with any other offers, coupon codes, etc. Excludes items beginning with PV, SUN, or AWG.

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