Boho Spirit Dress in Cotton Voile

Well, it sat, cut pieces ready to go whilst I became distracted by other projects. When I first started sewing, I thought it was weird how many people in sewing or fabric groups would comment on how many UFO’s they had hanging around. When I began, I would tackle one project at a time. But as time has gone on, I find myself bouncing between so many ideas: editing a pattern here, cutting pattern pieces there, sewing a different pattern yonder… I get it now. And that’s why it took three months since completing my muslin to finally finish this.

About the Fabric

• Asphodel Trace Cotton Voile by Art Gallery Fabrics from Cali Fabrics
• FABRIC CONTENT: 100% Cotton
• WEIGHT: Lightweight
• STRETCH: None

I just love this print. Elegant but cute, it screams breezy summer day and feels just as great. It’s semi-sheer, so light and breathable, and sews beautifully. Cotton voile has a more structured drape to it even though it’s so light.

What I Did Differently

• Switched up construction.
  1. Constructed the skirt and hemmed it.
  2. Constructed the bodice and hemmed it.
  3. Hemmed the sleeves.
  4. Attached the bodice to the skirt. Doing this first meant the front overlap was larger than the original instructions call for and the skirt side seams sit a little forward, but that actually didn’t bother me in the end. It keeps it from blowing open so easily. I don’t think the world needs me flashing them my underwear unexpectedly.
  5. Shirred everything.
• Lengthened the bodice. I added 3″ to the length of the bodice, and removed 3″ from the skirt to balance it out. The original bodice length was just too short for my long torso.

Notes for Next Time

• Swayback adjustment. I need to edit the back bodice somehow to remove ~1.5″ of fabric pooling along the small of my back.
• Circle skirt. This would be so fun as a full, flowy circle skirt instead of the straight rectangle pieces.

Project Settings