A Ruffley Rayon Gauze Boho Breeze

 I don't generally buy Winter Wear Designs patterns. As part of the blogger team I get sent the patterns I want for free in exchange for blogging about them during a tour. With this arrangement, if there's a pattern I want I simply wait for the next blog tour and figure out how I could use that pattern to fit the tour theme and then request it. This system has an added bonus of giving me a deadline so I have to get the pattern sewn in a timely matter rather than adding it to my miles-long "I will sew this one day" list.

All that said, a few years ago I bought the WWD Boho Breeze Romper and Dress pattern when it was on sale.

It was a pretty pattern, I liked the off the shoulder raglan sleeves, and I wanted the maxi-dress version in my closet. Now! So, as I like WWD and am happy to support Suzanne, the designer, I bought the pattern real quick rather than wait for an applicable blog tour. And then proceeded to not get around to sewing it. Until this blog tour. Three years later.

Yeah. I work best with deadlines.

So, here we are, this "Summer Style" blog tour has rolled around and I decided I was absolutely, positively, going to sew up a Boho Breeze dress for it. It was time, past time really, for me to use this pattern!

My plan was to sew up the dress, rather than the romper option, and add a few ruffles to personalize it a bit. I do enjoy putting my own spin on WWD patterns! Now what fabric would I use?

In the past few years I discovered I don't particularly like knit dress. They stretch and don't support pockets very well. I stick things in the pockets and they end up at my knees and distort the side seams of the dress. It's not very present. Thus, I prefer woven dresses. However, the Boho Breeze is a knit pattern. Could it, would it, possibly work with a woven fabric?

 This question was actually answered last year on another WWD blog tour when Maglice&So made a Boho Breeze dress out of double gauze. This loosely woven fabric worked and it was beautiful!! This dress inspired me to make my dress out of double gauze, or something similar.

 

"Something similar" wound up being a vintage crinkle rayon gauze type thing, given to me by my best friend's mom in a lot of stuff from her mom's sewing stash. My stash is short on cotton double gauze. This fabric is a bit heavier than I would have preferred for a summer dress, but it has a nice drape and a bit of stretch to it due to the weave and I knew it would work very well with this pattern.

 I usually blend between sizes S and M in WWD patterns, but since I was doing a knit pattern in a woven fabric this time, I opted to do a straight M. I didn't want the dress to be too tight! 

I cut out the bodice with 3/4 length sleeves and cut the skirt approximately according to the knee length skirt dimensions given in the pattern instruction, but with one notable difference. I cut it with just a center back seam and no side seams. The remainder of the fabric I cut into ruffles.

A nice wide ruffle for the hem.

Full ruffles for the sleeves.

Then I went to cut a ruffle for the neckline and discovered I didn't have enough fabric for a really good ruffle. Oops. Maybe I should have cut the sleeve ruffles a little less full or the hem ruffle a little less wide. Oh well. So my neckline ruffle is really just a wide band with a hint of a flounce to it.

The only way this slight flounce lays nicely is for the dress to be worn off the shoulder, which is really cute, but I'm not a fan of strapless bras so I cut little shoulder ties to cover my bra straps. Emphasis on little, I only had fabric scraps left here. 

Now remember how I said I cut the skirt with only a center back seam and no side seams? Well, when I started sewing the dress together I realized my mistake. I didn't have side seams to put pockets in. As dresses without pockets are a disgrace in my world, I would have to figure something else out.

So I made tear-drop shaped cut out pockets on either side of the skirt. They look cute and fix the pocket issue!

When the dress was on I put it on and was overall very pleased with how it turned out! There's just one thing. This fabric is warm! Not the best choice for a summer dress.

It is very nice in chilly air conditioned settings at least. Such as restaurants. 

I wore this dress when my husband took me out to dinner for my birthday and found it to be very comfortable! 

That said, save for the occasional dinner out, I think this dress will mostly stay in my closet until Fall rolls around! Whatever this fabric is, it's not a summer fabric!

Unseasonable fabric as it is, I'm still very, very, glad I finally made this dress! 

Now if you want to see some WWD makes that actually turned out to be more summer appropriate, check out the rest of the blog tour!

7/12

Patricia of Sew Far North

7/13

Alyssa of The Sewing Goat Herd

Suzanne of WWD

7/14

Rachel Reece of Violets and Jewels

Ilse of Sew Sew Ilse

7/15

Kristen Guest Posting at WWD

Alyssa of The Sewing Goat Herd

7/16

Laurie of The Bear and the Pea Atelier

Patricia of Sew Far North