The Anna Dress || With elastic waist || Tutorial

 So I made a new pattern (The Anna) and I love it. (truly) but here’s the deal the dress option doesn’t really work for me. Yep I will totally admit that. I love the option and I added the design element while my sister was here because it was perfect for her. (the model on the pattern cover) However she is 7 inches taller than me 15 pounds smaller than me, and her bust waist and hip and nearly straight. (sorry shwin 🙂 So the shift dress is so perfect for her and looks great but if you are more like me, with more bust and hip and less waist and height, I need more shaping from a dress than a little bust dart.

 The thing about the Anna is that it slips on over the head and is super easy and comfy to wear but since there is no zipper going do the back there can’t be a lot of shaping. That’s when a tester suggested shirring at the waist to help bring it in. Have I mentioned I love my testers? They are so great. So I gave it a whirl, and it’s awesome. The dress now totally works for me, giving me a waist and I can add a belt for a little interest and the shirring helps keep it in place.

 So I made the whole dress following the pattern. Then I tried it on and marked my waist. With a pin. Then I drew a straight line across the front and back at my waist line.

 Following the line I added 5 rows of shirring. What’s shirring? Sewing with elastic thread in the bobbin. Need some guidance on that? Check out this post where I walk you through shirring.  Simple as that.

Now I paired it with a belt, just because I wanted to, and the shirring makes sure the fabric doesn’t slip all around under the belt. The shirring is so nice and stretchy that the dress is still super easy to slip on and so so comfy to wear.

Pattern:
Anna Top/Dress || ShwinDesigns
Fabric:
Chambray || ML
Anna Marie Homer Rayon || ML