60s Dress- or I Wish I had A Holiday Dress

I made this dress out of pure sewing boredom.
Do you ever buy fabric just because it's cheap? This is my polish demeanor coming out - it's cheap, why not get it even though it's itchy and polyester?
Ok I'm exaggerating it's not that bad, but to be honest, if I saw this now, as a more experianced sewer I wouldn't have bought this fabric. Oh well, at least I got a dress out of it.

I've mentioned this on Pinterest (ahem ahem), I really don't know what to do about winter dresses. I mean, how often does one wear a long sleeved dress? I don't know if this is an Israeli thing, but I don't see many long sleeved dressed around that I like. (Also, long sleeved dresses always make me think of religious clothing (this is definitely an Israeli thing) because religious women have to cover their elbows in public so they always wear long sleeved dresses and I can't seem to shake this image out of my head)

Anyway, I decided to try a long sleeved version for this dress and surprise, surprise! I think I quite like it! It's just a basic shift dress (or maybe it doesn't count as a shift because it has a waist seam?) with welt pockets and three quarter sleeves.

I promise it looks less like PJs and more like a dress in real life.

I opted for simple side-bust-darts (I'm sure there's a simpler name for this) because I didn't want to ruin the striped fabric. I always have issues with this when sewing with plaids and stripes. I never really know what kind shape will distort the pattern the least, for this, dress side-bust-darts seemed the way to go. Don't ask me why I created a waist seam rather than made it a continuous dress, it was kind of difficult to match the stripes and they're kind of in an obvious area so it was really important they match. I guess in the end the waist seam does create a more fitted silhouette which I think is more flattering so it was worth it!

See the side-bust-dart? And no, I didn't bother matching the stripes on the side seams, bad sewer! bad!

I didn't have enough fabric to make a circle skirt of some sort so I decided to go for a flared A line skirt and see if the idea works for me (I'm always a little daunted by A line skirts, they seems kind of shapeless to me) but I think it came out nicely!  I used my own tutorial to draft the skirt, (taken from the Mystery Pocket Skirt) only I spread out the three rectangles to a measurement a little wider than my hip measuremant as I wanted the dress to be more flared than the Mystery Pocket Skirt (if you want to do this yourself and have questions - let me know!)

I have to say I'm incredibly happy with my pockets!! This was my first time making welt pockets and I love how they turned out. Welt pockets are one of those touches that remind me how much I've improved with my sewing, it's such a cute detail and it's easier to sew than it looks!
I used the pocket template from Colette's Anise Pattern (I've also made the Anise Jacket - with my own little twist, I'll show you guys soon!) and used Sarai's tutorial to make them (sorry, for some reason the Collettrie site isn't working so I can't attach the link, I'll be sure to check back soon and try again). It was pretty easy, Sarai's tutorials are so helpful!
I tried to find a tutorial on how to draft welt pockets for you guys but I can't seem to find one.. Maybe I'll make one myself - is that something you would find interesting?

I used my Cat Cotton from my Cat Blouse to make the lining for the pockets and I'm always so happy to reach into the pocket and see a little kitty peek up at me. I haven't actually used the pockets, only once when I had to use the bathroom at work and had my cellphone with me so I just stuck it in my pocket. To be honest it's not the most flattering place for pockets because the moment I put something in them, it weighs the fabric down and it clings to my hips which isn't a good thing, trust me. Oh well!

I added little buttons at the edge of the sleeves to give the dress a little pop of color (or a pop of black.. is black a color?), it was either this of little bows made up from the fashion fabric.. After much contemplation (I kid you not) I decided to add the buttons because I felt the dress was kind of... muted. What do you think?

I finished the neckline with bias tape, hemmed the sleeves by serging the fabric and turning it in. That's about it!
In closing, even though this isn't the dress of my dreams and it definitely exceeded my expectations (which were incredibly low in the first place)
I will leave you with a few questions:
What are you thoughts on winter dresses?
What is your favorite pattern for sewing with stripes and plaids?
Why am I making the same exact face in all the pictures?

Have a great weekend!