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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Summery preppy tunic dress

A long time ago, I bought the Cynthia Rowley pattern Simplicity 2584 because it's super cute!  And tunic and sheath dresses were way in last summer. I was a little hesitant to make it for a while since it's so clearly recognizable and iconic to anyone who buys Simplicity patterns--I'm sure many of you recognize it.  But then I figured, whatever.

Sheath dresses are super easy to make and require very little fabric, so it was an easy project and took what felt like an hour, except for the pointed yoke part, which was a little bit time consuming just to get a grasp of at first.
I used the same comforter cover I made my Recycled comforter cover dress from back in June.  There was a lot of fabric there!

I used white quilter's cotton for the yoke.

It's super cute and fun and all, but I don't understand why it's so low-cut!  He-llooo, how am I supposed to wear a bra with this? ;)  I wore a tank under it for the picture, but that takes away from some of the sleek-ness and simplicity.  I may add something small underneath and hand-stitch, to close up the V somewhat, but I don't really want to do that, either.  Any thoughts?

So, be warned, if you make this pattern, don't cut it ANY lower than the pattern suggests, and try it on before you clip it all the way!

24 comments

  1. you have to get one of those stick-on-bras!

    love the dress, though!

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  2. Anonymous8/24/2010

    Yeap, I agree. I would use a bandeau with it.
    Anyway, it is beautiful!

    Maria from:
    http://mycurrenthobby.blogspot.com/

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  3. Oh, well the part of the bra that shows is the very center, so a bandeau would be much higher than a plunge or deep V bra. But, I guess if it were a meant-to-show kind of thing in white, it would be cute and give the same look as a little tank without the bulk!

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  4. Oh I really like this! It's quite different from your usual dress style so it's nice to see - it really suits you!

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  5. super cute! IMO i don't think the cami detracts from the dress.

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  6. I made another of the Cynthia Rowley dress patterns and thought the same thing. The cut was so low (and I'm not extremely modest or anything). I just hand-stiched it together until I felt comfortable with the cut.

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  7. Would it detract from the style if you used some larger hook and eyes to close up the bottom to a less deep plunge. Just a thought. I don't think the tank detracts that much. It is a pretty cute style.

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  8. This is really cute but I'm really surprised at how low the slit is! This really make me want to make a tunic dress.

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  9. Anonymous8/24/2010

    I think the tank underneath looks fine. So many fashions these days are geared towards the layering look. If you want to lose the bulk, you could get a little piece of lace and/or solid fabric to sew on the underside of the tunic's yoke to make the APPEARANCE of having a cami/tank underneath.

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  10. Thanks for the info--it's funny, I actually bought this pattern YESTERDAY so I will take warning about the low V thing. And I'm extremely tall so I will lengthen it too. I'm seeing it looking pretty good with leggings. Whereas yours took a couple hours to complete, mine will most likely take days with my limited sewing skills : )

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  11. Anonymous8/24/2010

    I LOVE this pattern! I made this dress & top version in the spring & got a lot of compliments on it. It IS lowcut!!! I made mine not so low. Not sure why it's like that.
    Yours looks great! I love the blue & white together!

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  12. That is really cute! I like that it has a contrasting yoke. I too think the tank underneath is fine because so many styles nowadays have one built in.

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  13. Anonymous8/24/2010

    You could use a small frog closure to hold it together.

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  14. Anonymous8/24/2010

    I think you should sew some white lace behind the yoke to poke through, but still have enough coverage to wear a good bra.

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  15. Anonymous8/24/2010

    Just wondering what kind of interfacing did you use for the placket....I have been using "so sheer", and it gives a bit more softer look. To close up the front opening, sew it closed from the inside of the placket with invisable tacking stitches just enough to wear a bra, then it will open naturally

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  16. That is gorgeous! It was look super cute with a belt too.

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  17. Thanks!!
    I used fusible interfacing, fairly stiff, ironed on to the outside layer. The problem with just closing it up from the bottom of the slit is, it's cut on a slight angle to the neck edge, where it's 1-2" apart. So it wouldn't close up discreetly without puckering. I think I'm going to stick to a white tank under...

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  18. Very cute dress. I love the colours, so soft and natural!

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  19. i have a top with a neckline very similar to this, and it closes with loops and tiny buttons, so the fabric never overlaps but just touches at the edge if you get what i mean.

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  20. This was actually the first dress I ever made, super easy & stylish pattern! You're right, it is really low, but it looks great with a pretty cami under it (kind of goes with the whole tunic look anyway).

    You did an amazing job!!! This post has considering to make it again, this pattern would look great in Fall colors.

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  21. instead of a white tank, you could try a white lace insert sewn into the neckline, or possibly sew a row of thin white lace trim along the inside of the neckline to somewhat fill in the gap and camouflage the skin underneath with completely closing it off.
    Or wear a lace cami bra like the ones from Soma Intimates (http://www.soma.com/store/browse/product.jsp?maxRec=5&pageId=1&productId=500001779&viewAll=&prd=Ciao+Bella+Camisole+Bridget+Lined+Underwire+Lace+Bra&subCatId=cat5469275&color=&fromSearch=&inSeam=&posId=1&catId=cat40089&cat=Bras+Lace+Cami+Bras&onSale=&colorFamily=&maxPg=1&size=). I LOVE mine and wear it constantly under any top that's a bit too low in the neckline. Or you might be able to find a half-cami that just slips over a regular bra.

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