Mood DIY: Striped Boat Neck Dress

I’ve always loved boat neck dresses, and yet don’t think I own a single one. How can that be?! Welp, that had to change and I thought stripes would be the perfect way to incorporate it. So, I pursued the cotton jersey aisle at Mood Fabrics and found this bold striped fabric that would hug in the all the right places. I was all set. Tell me what necklines you think flatter you best, below. 

SUPPLIES: straight pins, tape, pencil, paper, scissors, striped fabric, and dress for a pattern.
HOW-TO:

1. Use a dress that you already love to create a pattern — I liked two dresses, and created a pattern I started here for the bottom, and made a new pattern for the top portion.
2. I folded back the excess pieces from the previous pattern (You can completely skip Step #1 if you have one dress you like). So, here’s what I wound up with.
3. Double up your striped fabric, pin your pattern to it, and then cut it out.
4. Go ahead and sew up the shoulders and sides of the dress.
5. Use your straight pins to hem the neckline and bottom hem for a finished edge.
6. I left the raw armholes –I liked that better. But now, all you have to do is go ahead and sew up the neck and bottom hem and you’re all set. Tada!

Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of the award winning blog, Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime. A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for over a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow; and has been a contributor for the Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, Super Money, Good Housekeeping, and Newsday Westchester, to name a few. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.