A Birch for All Seasons

Somebody stop me.

Sometimes I just can't help myself.  I made a navy blue Birch dress for my spring rotation, and I liked it so much that I made a summery version in a periwinkle blue.  I liked that one so much that I decided I needed to make an eggplant version for fall.  It worked out well that Rifle and Co. has conveniently issued this print in various colorways to suit the seasons.

I wore this dress for the first time to the wedding of Birdie's godmother a few weeks ago.  It was the perfect wedding dress.  I wore some dressy black sandals and this orangey cardigan that matches the orange in the big flowers perfectly.  I had intended to wear it to the family wedding this past weekend, but the weather in Minnesota was significantly cooler than here, so I chickened out and brought something else instead.  As it happened, the weather on the actual day of the wedding would have been fine for this dress, but oh well. 

I do like it.  I will like it even better when I can layer it up with boots and a heavier cardigan.  This past weekend was a spur to finish my Yellow Brick Road cardigan, as I discovered that my beloved (and very ratty) Ramona cardigan had some nascent holes when I wore it in Minnesota.  The YBR cardigan is a good color match for this dress too!  I just have one button band to do, and put the buttons on and weave in the ends and block it.  It is super wash, so blocking is no big thang.

The color is a deep purple in real life--it came out more brownish on the photos, but it is actually purple.  I have a long sleeve shirt that is exactly the same color to wear underneath, and my long line purple sweater is also a good color match.  It is a nice fall dress, honestly.  

I added 1/2" of length but didn't change much else about the construction.  Patch pockets as per rayon usual.  I do think that the sleeves could be slightly shorter when I make this pattern in rayon, as my arm motion is slightly restricted when I'm sitting down, but it isn't bad. 

I muslined a set-in sleeve version of this dress yesterday and I didn't get the armscye right.  I don't really know what the problem was, as it is a pattern that I just made that fit fine.  Maybe my muslin fabric didn't have enough give?  Makes me nervous to try a set-in sleeve version with real fabric, as the fit was definitely uncomfortable.  I'm considering trying to make longer sleeves by doing a fast fashion trick and just adding tubes of fabric to my cut-ons.  Seems lazy, but I think the fit in the shoulders and upper arms is more forgiving for those of us with boss biceps.

Overall, a good make.  I'm experimenting with some things right now, and also cut out a longer/smaller version of the Everday skirt in chambray, so hopefully I will have some more things to show soon.  I'm shrinking out of some of my things, so I guess I'll need to get working on alterations and suchlike.  I have at least two dresses that need the elastic in the back snugged up.