Sew Over It Dana Dress In Double Gauze

Back in September, I bought the Sew Over It e-Book, Work to Weekend and made the Dana dress, as we are heading towards December, I thought it was time I shared it!  It was still warm when I sewed it up and I made it for my birthday at the end of September.  I'm guessing next time I wear this it will be late spring.  The pattern fabric recommendations all feature drape - viscose and rayon wovens, crepe, georgette.  I find crepe and georgette a bit impractical for my everyday wear so I used a soft cotton double gauze, very similar to the fabric used for this dress which I wore repeatedly during the summer.  I picked it up as an end of roll from Stitch Fabrics at Festival of Quilts so I only had 2 metres (wide width) and had to cut very creatively.  This included piecing strips to make the belt, to squeeze the dress out of what I had and there were only tiny scraps left over.  This fabric has more drape than a Nani Iro/Kokka double gauze and is very soft.

I made a straight size 8, no changes.  I usually find I am a size 8 in less fitted SOI patterns and a size 10 in those with less ease.   The fit is good apart from the V which is too low for my small bust- too much rib revealed!  It's a relatively straightforward make with added interest from the covered button placket.  I hadn't sewn one of these before and this fabric was a little bouncy for creating the extra pleat that lies over the fastenings, but I made it work. 

As the V-neck is generous, the dress fits over my head without needing to unfasten any buttons so I omitted the button holes and stitched shell buttons through the placket layers.  I hand stitched the V where the front pieces crossover to secure it.

My only addition was a belt loop at each side seam.

It's a very informal style to wear- I really liked the patch pockets, especially in this fabric and the sleeve length is flattering.  I also liked the tie belt- I cannot bear anything restricting around the waist at the moment.  However, the belt also has a touch of dressing gown about it which makes me wonder whether this style has staying power in my wardrobe.  I'll have to see how much wear it gets next year, maybe it was a bit of an Indian summer fling!