Oceanside Dress by Itch to Stitch

I am one of the lucky folks that test drove the Oceanside Dress* by Itch to Stitch.  I absolutely love this dress! It is so comfortable and easy to wear.  It looks good on all body types.

You can wear it to the beach or on your way to work out (as one of the testers planned to do) or for date night.  There are a lot of different options for color-blocking this dress, and you can make it with or without ‘V’ inset.

My dress is a size 0 graded out to a 4 in the waist.  I used a grey bamboo/lycra jersey and an Art Gallery cotton/lycra for the contrast.  I opted to do a solid ‘V’ and topstitch it.  The topstitching is kind of ‘meh’ so there is no close up photo.{This post contains affiliate links, indicated by an asterisk*. Please refer to ‘About’ in the top menu for more info.}

I did not have to do a SBA for this pattern – YAY!!

I made a second Oceanside during the test.  This was a 2 graded out to a 6 at the waist with no inset.  It was too big, so I took it in some.  I should have taken it in more at the waist, lesson learned, lol!  That waistband needs to hug your body so that it gives you a nice waist and doesn’t get stretched out of place.

The dress instructions tell you how to lengthen or shorten the skirt.  My peplum pattern piece is about 9″ long.  The peplum arrived on the scene 5 years ago and this is the first garment I’ve made (or worn) with one!  I used to think the peplum was only for people with an ample bust.  I love this pattern because it brings attention to my upper body so that I don’t feel lopsided, if you know what I mean.

– Clear elastic at the waist is a MUST! It seriously pulls the waistband in and makes the garment look super polished!  I buy only 1/4″ thin clear elastic. You can get it from Sew Sassy Fabrics and So Sew English Fabrics.  I love being able to feed my clear elastic through my serger as I sew the seam.  But if you don’t have a serger (or if that intimidates you) you can sew the seam on the sewing machine and attach the clear elastic next.  (This is the method used in the instructions.)

– Try on the waistband prior to attaching it to the bodice or skirt.  Make sure it hugs your waist BEFORE you attach it to the bodice or skirt.  A form-fitting waistband is crucial to giving you a nice silhouette.  It means that the waistband will lie flat even if gathers are sewn to it. If your waistband doesn’t hug your waist, you may want to take it in before you get any farther.  You will avoid A LOT of unpicking. *AHEM!*

 

– Consider how your fabric choice will affect the look and feel of the garment.  My dress has a drapey bamboo/lycra bodice and skirt.  The main part of my top is cotton/lycra. It has less drape and more body so it comes away from the body more.  Neither is right or wrong, it just depends on the look you’re going for.