Hi all – – I’m pleased to be showing you my dresses as part of the Day and Night Dress Challenge Blog tour. Thanks to Elizabeth of Elizabeth Made This for this challenge. What better way to jump-start our sewing after the holidays! There’s a blog tour and a community challenge so check it out for some inspiration. You’ll find a list of the bloggers that are participating and links to their sites at the end of this post.
My Day Dress:
I’d wear dresses every day if I had enough of them! Dresses are perfect for everything a day can dish out: running errands, a business meeting, or (!!) happy hour. But to me, a day dress just has to have pockets. I feel weird if I don’t have somewhere to stick my hands! That’s why I picked McCalls’ 7464 for this make. It has curved pockets, a design element that mimics the line of the curved inset.The pockets were lined, but very easy to sew. The challenge was cutting and placing them on my plaid woven cotton. There’s nothing like a plaid matching challenge to test your determination!
I love how the curved insets add shape at the waist. I used a solid ponte knit for the insets and the sleeves so that it would provide a calming contrast to the busy plaid. The ponte knit, although stable, has a teeny bit of give, and since it’s placed at the waist, this means this dress is really comfy.
McCall’s 7464 is a pretty easy pattern to put together, yet it has a lot of fun detail.
I modified the design only slightly. I added a short knit collar to give my dress a more casual look, and finished the sleeves with a narrow knit cuff too. I know I’ll wear this dress a lot.
My Night Look
I’m crazy about lace (as if y’all didn’t know that!), and when I saw this black lace at the Mill End Store, it was love at first sight. For the challenge, our night dress needed to be black, so I knew I’d use the lace as part of that look. I decided to make a simple, unfussy dress so the lace could shine.
I paired the lace with black velvet, because, well…it’s velvet! To make the dress, I lengthened one of my favorite top patterns, Vogue 8952.
I like the Raglan sleeves on the top, and thought they’d look interesting in lace.
I love Swing-y dresses when I go out, because they have a dressy-vibe, without being fussy. To get the swing look of this dress, I extended the a-line of the top pattern by 8″. Then, I added an 8″ border of lace to the hem. I didn’t line the lace border, because I like the see through quality of the lace. With black hose/tights, I hope it’s not too revealing, just dramatic? I know this LBD will get a lot of use.
The Day and Night Dress Challenge blog tour is a great way to visit some new blogs and find some inspiration for your own makes. Thanks to Elizabeth for putting this together for us all to enjoy! There’s a community challenge too, with cool prizes and great sponsers. You can find the details on Elizabeth’s blog, Elizabeth Made This.
THE DAY AND NIGHT DRESS CHALLENGE BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:
Sunday, Jan 8th: Elizabeth of Elizabeth Made This, Brittany of Brittany J Jones
Monday, Jan 9th: Maria of How Good is That?, Tonya of Sew So Petite
Tuesday, Jan 10th: Je’Tua of Robertswife, Meg of Cookin’ and Craftin’, Melanie of Its Melanie Darling
Wednesday, Jan 11th: Linda of Elle Gee Makes, Tee of Maggie Elaine
Thursday, Jan 12th: Bianca of Thanks I Made Them, Daniela of On the Cutting Floor
Friday, Jan 13th: Melissa of Mahlicadesigns, Rachel of Sew Redy, Renata of Runnningnstyle, Sonja of Sewing ala Carte
Saturday, Jan 14th: Doja of Elewa blog, Judith of Judith Dee’s World, Tanya of Mrs. Hughes
Check them out! If you decide to make a dress, I’d love to know so that I can feature your dress (s) in a post here.
Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
Elle Gee Makes 
Great work! Love the lines on your day dress, and lace and velvet – ummmm yes please! What a great way to start off the year. And a fun blogging party too.
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Thanks Naomi! It’s nice to have two new dresses in my closet, although some (ahem) would say I already have enough :). Happy new year to you!
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Your dresses are both over the top and you look stunning in them. Yes! Wear dresses every day!
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Thanks so much! A dress a day is a good goal. Now if only the weather would cooperate!
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Pretty dresses! I just started cutting into M7464 and was debating between the version with or without pockets so this helped my decision. Also love the lace on the evening look.
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Thanks so much! I love the curvy shape of those pockets! Can’t wait to see your version, and what you think of the pattern.
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These dresses are stunning! (I would probably have to make mine out of another colour, not white, because I slop a lot!) But I love the style! Your night dress is very elegant – I think the lace is perfect!
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Thank-you! Yes, we’ll see how long I can go without getting something on those sleeves! That lace was a lucky find. It just jumped into my shopping cart when I wasn’t looking.
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Both dresses are great and look amazing on, I love the day dress, it’s something that would be in constant rotation in my wardrobe so I NEED this pattern!
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Thanks! I love that pattern and already have plans for another version for spring. You won’t be sorry..
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Love both your day/night renditions!
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Thanks so much! They were especially fun to make,
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I love both of these! The plaid knit is amazing and I love that you paired it with the white. I do not envy you attaching curved patch pockets on a knit though, haha! And I think it is so cool/sexy/daring that you didn’t line the lace at the bottom of your skirt on the Night look: it’s edgy, it matches the unlined sleeves, and it helps keep the dress light to the eye against the velvet, and makes the dress read “Now,” (as opposed to retro) if that makes sense? I love how short and flirty it is, too. 🙂
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Thanks so much, and you are so right about those patch pockets and the knit. It was a bit (?!!) of a freak out moment. Drama! But I like the finished project. I’m so glad you see what I was going for with that lace hem on the night look. In my dreams, I’m always daring and edgy, but reality is usually so different. Thanks for saying it worked this time. You made my day.
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The lace and the velvet work SO well together. It’s not obvious that this is a swing shape with the different fabrics together which I think makes it have a little more flair than a regular swing shape. I swear if we got together between the two of us we would buy all the lace! The matching on the patch pockets is just excellent too. Thanks so much for all of your hard work again!
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You are so right! If we went shopping together, there would be a severe shortage of lace for the rest of the world. It’s so great to start 2017 off with two new dresses in my closet that I love. Thanks for hosting this amazing challenge to motivate me.
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I’m very fond of the day dress, it looks so comfy but you look also so put together in it.
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Thanks! It’s the sort of dress I feel comfortable in which probably makes me look more put together than some.
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The day dress looks great. The color blocking and the pattern matching of the pockets are well done. The lace detailing on the night dress makes the dress one of a kind.
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Thanks so much! I think I’ll wear both a lot and am so glad the challenge came along to motivate me. It’s been fun.
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Great work!
I love the style of the black dress with some dramatic fabric combination, and a modern cut. It is very beautiful and you look great on it. I also like the day dress with the curve shape at the waist, it is such a smart way to showcase your fabrics!
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Thanks so much! I took the black dress out for a test drive and enjoyed it immensely. The challenge has been so fun. I hope it becomes an annual event.
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I love both looks! You’ve shown such great examples of color and fabric blocking with these dresses. I’m also partial to raglan sleeves and it’s a treat to see them on a nighttime look. I agree with Mads that the lace unlined at the bottom of the dress gives an edgy look! Plus the black tights and ankle buckle shoes really give a great overall look! And can we add that both look so comfortable! Let’s not forget the pockets! A+
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Thanks so much for the A+! So nice to know another raglan fan. I can’t get enough of them. And thanks for noticing my color/fabric blocking, another thing I can’t seem to get enough of! As shoes go, I have to say those are my most comfortable heels. I’m so glad they work with this dress.
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I love both dresses Linda!
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Thanks, Judith!
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Awesome job on matching the plaid pockets! I love the color blocking on your day dress and I agree about your night dress – lace is awesome! These looks so comfortable yet elegant – a winning combo in my book 🙂
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Thanks! The pockets are the best part about that dress so I had to persevere on that plaid matching!
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Your night dress!!!!! Omg!! I love the combination of fabrics you used and the lace raglan sleeves and frilly hem!!! You obviously know how to give patterns a unique twist!
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Thanks so much. It was a fun dress to sew!
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Great dresses! I love the lace detail on the night dress and the plaid plus colorblocking is so comfy and chic looking!!
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Thanks so much! It’s always fun to find an way to do a bit of color blocking!
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