My First Date Night Dress and Slip

Y’all know my love for April Rhodes‘ fabric from my first quilt, but did you know she also designs garment patterns?! I hadn’t made any of her patterns yet, but I’d had the Date Night Dress pattern in my “to-make” pile for a while.

I’m trying to make more clothing to build my handmade wardrobe. The Date Night Dress pattern is pretty straight forward so I figured it was a great piece to jump back into garment-making with.

The Date Night Dress

To begin with, my sister’s birthday was coming up so I made a “muslin” to test the pattern which I planned to give to her for her birthday (she fits typical clothing sizes better than I do). I shortened the size Medium by 2 inches and it was still a bit long for her, but she claims to like it 🙂

Here is how it turned out:

That adorable floral knit fabric is from Girl Charlee.

For my own Date Night Dress, I shortened the pattern an additional 2 inches (4 inches total) and brought the neckline in and up a bit. I used a burgundy linen blend fabric that I picked up a JoAnn’s for my version.

Fits perfectly! I’m so glad I took the time to adjust the pattern as I was going to best fit me. Now I’ll easily be able to whip up future, well-fitting Date Night Dresses with ease!

The Simple Slip

One of the cool features of the Date Night Dress pattern is that it comes with a second pattern: a simple slip! When Rachel from Sew Happily recommended this pattern to me, she recommended making the slip because the arm holes are quite large (which is actually really nice when you live in an area with extremely hot and humid summers like we do… Hello, air flow!). Since neither of the materials I used were translucent (and I thought a matching bra or undershirt would suffice), I considered skipping it. But I knew a slip would be worth my time because of its versatility so I gave in.

For my slip, I ordered this rayon challis fabric in ivory from Imagine Gnats. It was so soft! Perfect for a slip. With 2 yards, I even had enough left over to make my own bias tape for the straps:

I shortened the slip the same amount that I shortened the dress. I ended up cutting off the first set of straps I made (I think I attached them wrong – there was a double layer across the back that didn’t look great) and bringing the armpit in a bit (for some reason it was gaping open awkwardly on me). It was worth the modifications because the fit is great on this one too!

I’m excited to keep plundering through my “to-make” list so stay tuned! I reorganized all my patterns last weekend and rediscovered a lot of great tops and dresses I had forgotten about (like the entire Just Add Jeans collection from Pattern Anthology). I’ve already got a Day Tripper top (pattern by Shwin Designs) underway and hope to have it finished soon – pictures to come!

Author: Jordan Slice-Metcalfe

My name is Jordan. I'm a full-time working mom whose coffee cup is always half full (and probably still in the microwave). I've got a weak spot for rescuing old dogs, pretending pizza is a vegetable, negotiating dessert with every meal, propagating more plants than any home needs, dreaming of sewing projects while my husband is talking to me, and loving my tribe too deep. View all posts by Jordan Slice-Metcalfe