Want to make yourself an easy summer dress? I can recommend Vogue #8233 as seen here in a cotton/poly paisley fabric I picked up at our local JoAnn's. It does require close to 5 yards of fabric but this paisley was on sale for a $1.99 a yard! Quite a deal my $10.00 dress! The bodice is fully lined and its an easy fit due to the wrap front. The minor alterations I made to the pattern were a bust adjustment and shortening the ruffles so the skirt would end just above my knee. I also made an adjustment to the armseye shape making the shoulder an inch narrower. I will probably wear mine with this "uber" wide suede belt when I want to dress it up a bit, and plain for hot casual summer days.
This is the same dress made for my daughter. This fabric also purchased at JoAnn's is a heavy cotton with embroidered dots scattered all over. For her alterations I shortened the bodice as she is short waisted, but no bust cup alteration, then the same narrower shoulder which you can see real well here, and I also shortened the ruffles for her. I included the tie closure according to the pattern but made mine from a length of white ribbon with a red twill tape laid on top. I secured the two together by zig zagging in white along the edges of the red twill tape. My daughter is left handed so I also wrapped the dress in that direction for her.
Other options shown on this pattern include a small flutter sleeve and a single ruffle on the skirt instead of the double I chose. This dress can be completed in a weekend! No zippers! No buttonholes! No worries.
