Rosy Cowl Dress

I love knits!  They are pretty terrific for me these days.  I can easily wash and wear them, chase a toddler in them, do the dishes, run errands and not wear yoga pants all day.  I found this fun 100% cotton knit in JoAnn's the other day marked down to almost nothing.  I was on the fence with it thinking it was either only pajama-worthy or a bit to young for a regular outdoor-wearin' outfit for me.  I decided I like feeling like I am wearing jammies all day and I like that it's a pretty, colorful print.  I couldn't help myself and used Vogue 8634 (again!) but turned it into a mini dress.  Here's a rule of thumb I like to follow: the louder the print, the shorter the dress.  The print could just overtake me if it were below the knee.  Plus, I only had two yards to work with here and I used every last inch for this garment.

This knit is really great for cool weather.  It's warm and has some weight to it.  I wish it had a touch of spandex for better recovery.  I've been wearing it all day and it doesn't seem stretched out yet, so that appears to not be a major problem. 

I cut between a medium and large, the same size as last time with my modal spandex version, but this time I went in on the seams and neckline a bit because it looked a little baggy.  I would cut a straight medium next time (even if the pattern tells me to cut a large/xl!)  To add the skirt I simply measured about 20" from the waistline and cut there.  It's a soft a-line skirt to suit my pear shape.  I actually cut the back into two identical pieces.  This allowed me to grade inwards at the back waist to get rid of the rumpled fabric that I get with a swayback.