My mother-in-law got me an off-the-shoulder top for Mother’s Day, and I wore it on our most recent road trip. It was perfect for galavanting under the Texas and New Mexico heat, so it got me wondering about making a dress version of it. I remembered this image I pinned several months ago, then I saw this post recently, and it sealed the deal, I was going to make one. I debated between white, chocolate brown, ivory, and red linen fabric, and as you see above, I went with the chocolate brown. The girls call this my Jedi princess outfit. When I was working on it, they thought I was making myself a Jedi costume to match them (see here), so maybe I should have gone with red instead. HA!

Here’s a rough sketch of the pattern I used to make the dress. Basically, I measured my width across, and added about 3-5 inches to that, and then measure around my shoulders and doubled the length of that for the ruffle. The dress is a basic shift and the off-the-shoulder section is a really long rectangle. I created a casing at the top and inserted elastic through it. When it comes to dress sewing, I just go for it and find it relaxing to not have to create a step by step of it.

During last week’s IKEA trip, I picked up another rug to make another fringe rug bag (this one is mine, the other is for someone else). If you’re itching to make something, but don’t have a lot of time, this bag is perfect. Just make sure to pick up a rug the next time you’re at IKEA.