Teal Polka Dot Tea Dress - Butterick 5603

A perfect opportunity arose to jump back into sewing after the trip with a tea party last weekend! It had a candy theme and the invitation said to wear a colorful dress, so I started looking through my stash, both for which pattern to use and which fabric.

I settled on Retro Butterick 5603, view C, and decided to use the last bit of teal polka dot fabric I had for the top part, and a great lightweight, slightly stretchy cotton blend for the skirt.

The skirt went together fairly quickly, the longest part was covering aaaallll those raw seams inside with rayon seam binding! But it's worth it, I just love a pretty inside! I added a pocket, of course, though it wasn't in the pattern.

The bodice ended up taking a bit longer than I thought it would, just because it was a bit brain-twisting to keep straight which part was the front, which was the back, which was the left, and which was the right, as they all looked so similar.

They also overlap, and some of the parts are sewn only to the outside and not the lining, some are left open..it was definitely a brain bender at times! But I got through it, and I think having done it once it would go a lot more quickly if I decided to do it again.

I did add about an inch to the very front of the bust, as I felt it was just a tad high on my larger bust. I hand picked my side zipper, attached it all, and finished off my hem the morning of the tea party. :-)

Then I went and had a fun time tasting teas and enjoying great conversation. It was only then that I came home and took pictures, so my apologies for all the wrinkles! This was after driving for quite a while in the car, which didn't help. I wore this cropped gray sweater with it, I love my cropped sweaters!!

I definitely like the pattern, especially the shape of the skirt and the way it falls!

I think this is the first skirt I've done with paneling like this? But there are several other patterns in my stash that use it, I'll certainly be interested in trying them out after the success of this one.

So I already met my Vintage Pledge goal of 5 projects, but I'll go ahead and add this to my list for the year. :-)