I have loved watching each person interpret our Dress Up This Town prompt. Between the theme song (Dress Up This Town by Mary Sarah) and the title, we've seen ALL kinds of dress inspiration. And I'm excited to have my second stop.

Somehow, despite having sewn 5 different versions of the Hey June Handmade Charleston Dress, I've never given it its own blog post! For shame. That made it the perfect dress for the Dress Up This Town Tour.

Thanks to the Sew A Long in Piccadilly BST and Sewing Lounge back in January, I knew going in that the bodice fit a more petite shape without adjustments. If you need a sew a long, head over to the group and search for "Charleston". So even though I normally adjust length in the bodice, my muslin had ZERO length adjustments in the bodice. I did however take 3" out of the skirt length. Since losing weight, my difference between high bust and full bust is just 3", so I was able to completely skip dealing with an FBA in this pattern. Further, even when my bust was an inch bigger, I was still able to wear this dress, so depending on your fabric and your difference in overbust to full bust, you may be able to skip the FBA.

My measurements at this time are 35" over bust. 38" full bust. 31" waist. 38" full hip. That gave me a large top and medium hip in this pattern. I opted to size down, rather than up for a size larger than the given size in this pattern. This is typically how you size a knit pattern, unless you specifically want more ease.

This pattern includes 2 different bodices (1 for sleeves, 1 without), 2 skirt options (pencil and pleated with pockets) and an additional 6 different sleeve options. I have made ALL but the longest sleeve option (but it is on my list). And I love the capsleeve on this pattern so much, that I copy over the shape to any other pattern that I want with a capsleeve.

I LOVE the princess lines on the bodice. It adds shaping and can be a great place to color block. You can blend the color block down into the pencil skirt OR put it in the pocket and really help define your waist.

Because I love this pattern so much and also POCKETS, I've sewn not 1 but 3 version to share with you. All fabrics come from Simply By Ti.

Version #1, Fuchsia French Terry. I used a rayon spandex for the pocket lining to prevent bulk and also because it was fun. This wasn't really necessary as the skirt isn't thick enough to show the pocket bag.


 Version #2, Ponte. Even though I have unlimited access to the ponte in the Simply By Ti shop, I had been hoarding this one. It was meant to be something special and I wanted to do it justice. I love the simple black and white pattern and can see a million ways to dress it up with pretty shoes, jewelry, cardigan or even a belt (I don't do belts, but I could see it happening).

Version #3, Stretch Poplin. The Charleston isn't actually drafted for stretch wovens, but I had seen that one of the Charleston testers had used a stretch woven and it turned out great. I wanted that. I love the Simply By Ti stretch poplin because it is so versatile. It makes nice crisp lines while still giving the comfort of wearing a stretch fabric. This dress would be perfect to wear to work. For what it is worth, I completely screwed up the back zipper, so I still need to have a date with my seam ripper. Or, I could just throw a cardigan over it, and poof, no more mistake. 😉 If I was going to sew this again, I'd probably take smaller seam allowances on the vertical seams (princess seams, side seams on the bodice). The pattern includes 3/8" seam allowances. I think a 1/4" seam allowance would give the little bit of extra ease that would get rid of the pull lines.

So, which one is your favorite?

Ready to register for a chance to win a copy of the Charleston (or any other Hey June Pattern of choice?). And it isn't just Hey June Either! All our sponsors are so generous to be offering prizes, including myself, Simply By Ti.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out all the stops on the tour and to leave comments. Bloggers love comments. 💖 Week 1: July 1st-8th
1- Sewing By Ti (Intro) and Stitching At Night
2- Me Made
3- Tenille's Thread
4- Sewing By Ti
5- Seams Sew Lo
6- Anne Mari Sews
7- Sea of Estrogen
8- Lulu and Celeste

Week 2: July 9th-15th
9- Living in Twinado Valley
10- Ma Moose
11- My Heart Will Sew On
12- Seams Sew Lo
13- Kate Will Knit
14- Creative Counselor
15- Sewing With Sarah

Week 3: July 16th-22nd
16- Stitching and Making
17- That's Sew Lily
18- Sprouting Jube Jube
19- Auschick Sews
20- Anne Mari Sews
21- Lulu and Celeste
22- On Wednesdays We Sew

Week 4: July 23rd-31st
23- Stitching At Night
24- Sewing Curves
25- My Heart Will Sew On
26- Indulging Mum
27- That's Sew Lily
28- Adventures With Bubba and Bug
29- Capture, Craft Cook
30- Sewing By Ti- ***You are here. 😀
31- Sew Like a Sloth