Brunch Dress: The Planning Stages

My pattern paper is finally here, so while the bias skirt for my WGD hangs out, I can start drafting my next project, a summer dress.  This dress is also for the wedding I'll be attending in May, but unlike the satin dress, it should be much more re-wearable.

Having just had a wedding myself, I'll share my opinion that weddings are one of the few opportunities for adult, professional women (and men, if so inclined) to color-coordinate unabashedly.  Cousin Angela's "wedding colors" are shades of blue, and I've definitely jumped on the bandwagon.  The dress I'm sewing next will be for a swanky ladies-only pre-wedding brunch (with hats!)

Here's her invitation:

And here's the paisley cotton voile from Haberman's that I'll be using.  I think it has a very "brunch-with-the-ladies" vibe.

(As a died-in-the-wool academic, I can't resist pointing out the imperialist back-history of paisley, whose popularity in 19th century England reflected that nation's colonial presence in India.)

I'm planning a simple, sleeveless dress with a surplice v-neck and an A-line skirt.  Something similar to Vogue 8182, which I used to approximate my yardage.  I'm planning to use darts instead of gathers on the bodice, and a smooth waistband rather than a ruched one to get a sleeker look.

Since I'll be drafting this pattern from scratch, I figured it would be a great opportunity to write and share a series of drafting how-to's for each of the components of this dress: a midriff yoke, a surplice top, and an A-line skirt.  I'll be using my sloper as a basis, but if you don't have a sloper, you could use a pattern for a basic dress that fits you well.

So stay tuned for the first installment of the series, which will be about drafting a midriff yoke!