A sundress designed by Bethany Sew-&-Sew

I wanted to make a sundress for myself based on a dress I saw on craftster.org (I looked but couldn't find the direct link to it), but that one wasn't going to work for my body type.  I had to rethink it and come up with my own design.  I started by creating a tube that fit loosely over my body from the chest down.  I'm a hippy girl hence the trapezoid shape!  I didn't measure the length since I just cut it to the right length later.  I also cut out the shape you see to the right.  This started as a long rectangle cut to fit around my chest (the same length as the circumference of the top of the other piece), but later I decided it needed to have a dip in the back.  I then hemmed the entire top of it.

I made channels on the two ends of this piece where the straps I made would be inserted.  The straps are made from scrap fabric that I braided.  I sewed off the ends of the braids so they wouldn't unravel and then threaded them through the channels I made on the end of the top piece.

I sewed this piece around the circumference of the top of the dress, making sure to sew in the straps at the bottom of the channels.  At this point the dress was almost wearable!  I sewed some elastic into my seam allowance under the bust to get a good fit and then knotted the straps at the top of the bust after scrunching them to where they fit well.  I later decided to sew the fabric together behind the knot in order to get a better, tighter fit.

Here is the close up of the top.  I really like the braided straps.  I have to admit that I saw this done on another dress, so it's not my original idea, but I had never done it before.  I like the dress since it is very comfortable, but mostly because I made it and I really like the fabric.  Sorry this picture is so blurry.  It's hard to take pictures of yourself with a three year old running around!