A summery rayon tunic dress. I’ve made this pattern a few times, but I haven’t really gotten into the details which is the useful stuff!

The pattern is one of my own that I call Garnet- a semi-fitted tunic with a high-low hem. It usually has long bishop sleeves.

This dress needed short sleeves, though! So I copied its original long sleeves, but only drew down about 3″, with 1″ allotted for the hem.

Sewing the bodice is pretty basic. It has bust darts, a back yoke, an inner yoke, and a small back pleat. I attach the yokes using the burrito method. I love burrito-ing yokes because it feels like doing a magic trick. Voila -a shirt!

However…I made a critical error when cutting my yokes. Because I was running low on fabric, I cut the yokes on the bias. Which, on it’s own, isn’t bad. But cutting both yokes on the fold at once? Very bad! That goes double if you’re cutting slippery rayon.

So…after I sewed the yokes onto the bodice, the outer one was baggy. I had to rip out some of the stitching, adjust the fabric, trim it, and sew it back up again. It only cost me about half and hour, but that’s way longer than if I had just cut the pieces one at a time. Dink!

I made a thin tie for the waist, with lightweight fusible interfacing so it keeps its shape, and 1/2″ wide belt loops. With previous versions, I skipped making the tie. But I found that wearing a real belt feels too constrictive and rigid. The tie is lighter and moves with me.

The neckline is finished with a facing, which I finish using a herringbone stitch. Once you get the hang of it, the stitch is really enjoyable!

The fabric is deadstock rayon that I purchased locally. Unfortunately, that’s all I know about it, because it’s like butter. I think it’s the boldest color in my closet!

It’s about 42″ wide and I had 2 yards. I had very little remaining after cutting all the pieces, which is great because my remnants stash is bigger than my new fabrics stash.

Overall, I love this dress! The rayon is breezy, smooth, and light. It’s comfy and feels stylish, bumping it up into Summer Staple status for me.

Thanks for reading <3