Whew, it's been a minute since I blogged last! I'm so excited to be breaking the silence with a post about one of Deer & Doe's latest patterns, the Myosotis Dress!
Camille from Deer & Doe sent me the pattern to sew in anticipation of the release and I absolutely fell in love. If you've been following along here for awhile, you know I have a soft spot in my heart for oversized and slightly boxy dresses. And the Myosotis pattern hits everything love in a dress - minimal shaping, comfortable, pockets, and flattering details. I kind of see this as a mashup of the Fringe Dress from Chalk and Notch and the Carson Dress from Paddleboat Studio (two of my all time favorites - how could this be anything less than perfect?!) Even Nate, who usually makes fun of my love of boxy things, said that it looked great when we had date night last weekend! Winner.
So let's talk fabric. This pattern just begs for something drapey! From past experiences, I knew that I couldn't use any fabric that held its shape with a pattern with gathers like the Myosotis Dress. Even lawns and voiles make me feel like a cupcake when gathers are involved. I decided on our Viscose Twill from the shop because I just can't get over the drape that it has! I will say though, I almost decided on one of the new crepes we got in last week...the Golden Clusters Crepe is calling to me and would be perfect for this dress! Basically, the more drape the better in my book.
Based on my measurements, I sized into the size 42. However, after looking at the finished garment measurements, I decided to size down to a 40 - and it fits exactly how I had imagined! This gave me about 5" of ease through the bust and 4-5" of ease through the waist. It's just enough to get the dress on and off, but not so much that I feel frumpy.
The darts also help to give this dress just enough shaping through the body. I will say, I think it will be important to check the placement of the darts before committing to them! I usually need to do a full bust adjustment on patterns and I didn't need to make any alterations to the Myosotis pattern. If you have a smaller chest, you'll definitely want to check the dart placement!
I only made two very minor alterations to my version of this pattern, and they are changes that I make to nearly every dress pattern that's similar to this. I took out about an inch from the bodice, as my natural waist falls a little higher than the pattern was drafted for. When I'm trying on the bodice, I always have to remind myself that the weight of the skirt will pull the bodice down a bit. If it hits me in just the right spot without the skirt attached, I probably need to take off an inch or so to account for the added weight later on.
I also used the skirt length of the largest size (size 52), which added about 2" of length to the skirt. I tend to like my skirts a little longer than most I think. 
This is such an easy dress to just throw on and head out the door feeling put together and cute (I need more of those!). I can already tell I'll be living in this over the summer. Plus, I think it'll get a lot of wear even into fall and winter with some tights and boots! I just love a year-round dress.
We now carry the newest line of patterns from Deer & Doe, as well as a handful of favorites from past collections. These patterns are a joy to sew with, so grab a copy!
