My first clothing project this year was creating this fun, flowey, summer dress. I got in just in time to wear it to Valentines weekend, which more importantly, is my mums Birthday.

Pattern Information

Description: Very loose-fitting, pullover dress which has elastic at the neckline and waist. It also has a number of variations for the sleeve and hem. In long and short versions.
Pattern: Butterick 6451
Material: Rayon material from Spotlight

What did you like about this pattern?

The one thing I really like about this patterns is the number of alterations you can make to the dress, ruffles and sleeves. It’s also a very popular style of dress, which can be made from lightweight fabrics such as rayon or linen.

Did you make any pattern alterations?

This blue dress was my first attempt at sewing this dress. I cut out a muslin but I didn’t go as far as adding the elastic. So once I finished the dress there were a few alterations I wanted to make for the second dress to get it to sit properly.

In the photo below I have the back pattern overlaying the front pattern so that I could match it up at the sides. The first alteration I made was simply taking 5cm off the top of the front and back of the dress.

I also brought the side part about 5cm on both the front and back because it left quite a large gap where my bra was showing.

It’s wasn’t a huge issue because the only time you would notice this is if I lift my arms but obviously I wanted it to sit perfectly for my second version.

This is the second version of this dress and thankfully you can’t see my bra on any angle, even if I lift my arms. I absolutely love the dress style and the extra gathered panel at the bottom. It’s perfect for summer and being lightweight rayon material means I can wear this in the humid Brisbane heat.

Would you recommend this pattern?

This is a beautiful pattern and I highly recommend trying it if you’re looking for a light, summery dress. I’ve shown the few alterations that I’ve had to make to get it to sit better under my arms, so this may be a recommendation to test before cutting out your main fabric. The light fabric such a rayon sits great and works really well with the gathered bottom strip.