At the end of February, I was able to attend QuiltCon in Austin, TX. It feels like a lifetime ago before the world went into full lockdown, and then modified lockdown, and then whatever stage we are in right now. QuiltCon is an annual quilt show hosted by The Modern Quilt Guild. Each year I am fortunate to attend with my company to work our vendor booth at the show. It is always a fantastic event and this year was no exception!
When I’m not at shows, 90% of my wardrobe is a combination of sweatpants, yoga pants, and pajamas. My work from home life doesn’t require much of a business wardrobe. 😉 Going to quilt shows and traveling gives me the chance to bust out many of my handmade garments.
One of the dresses I took for the show this year was the Deer & Doe Myosotis Dress. I’ve made this dress enough times to now say that it is one of my tried and true patterns. I love the fit, it has pockets, and it looks amazing in several different fabric types.
This version is my most recent make using Playground fabric by Dylan M. for Windham fabrics. It’s a quilting weight cotton and is the heaviest of the three versions I’ve made. I adore the print so much, and I was able to use vintage buttons that belonged to my Granny for the button placket.
One note about using quilting cotton for this pattern; if you want to include the bottom ruffle using a directional print it will be shorter than needed, or you will need to piece it to be longer.
The pattern calls for cutting the ruffle on the cross-grain (i.e. parallel to the selvage) when using 45″ wide fabric, so to keep the pattern going the right direction I had to cut it with the grain and it ended up not being as full as the pattern calls for because I didn’t have enough fabric to piece it longer.
What I love about the Myosotis dress is how easy it is to make. By the time I sewed my third version, I was able to cut and sew the dress in approximately 3 hours, not including snack breaks. 😉 One of the many reasons I like to make Deer & Doe patterns are straightforward instructions and illustrations.
The second version I made was done using Shannon Fabrics Double Gauze. It is a much lighter weight than the quilting cotton and a bit trickier to work with as well, but it is dreamily soft; secret pajamas for sure!
My double gauze version was made using Aurifil Forty3 100% cotton 3 ply thread. I know that the rule of thumb is normally to use polyester thread when sewing garments, but I have had fantastic results when using cotton.
My first version of the dress was made using an Art Gallery Fabrics voile that is unfortunately unavailable now, but any voile would be gorgeous. This is a lightweight fabric but it behaves closer to quilting cotton or lawn, so sewing it up is a breeze.
Temperatures in Texas have finally started to go down, it’s in the 80s instead of the 100s 😂. I’m tempted to make a fourth version of the Myosotis in flannel for Autumn.
Have you made any Doe & Deer patterns?
It looks really cute in every version.
Author
Thank you! ❤