Simplicicty S8790 Knit Dress with Hoodie and Elastic Waist

This look was motivated by my lack of the need to dress up anymore because of my current employment status. I really miss going to work every day, but I realize that is my current situation, and I will accept the reality right now. In the meantime, I will sew with the time I have to do so, and enjoy it. Plus, I need some casual clothes anyway, and this is a great knock around dress. So, let’s get to this latest project.

Before I really get into this, the first picture above was taken at the restaurant where my husband and I had our reception in 2019. Our anniversary is this month. Anyway, the restaurant is about .3 miles from our house and is such a super cute cozy restaurant that serves breakfast and brunch. They moved in February and will relocate to a new building close to its sister restaurant downtown called The Railroad. Not only did we have the reception here, but they also catered the food and did a really fantastic job in making it a beautiful event for us and our friends and family. This picture is just a reminder and farewell to the old location of this beautiful restaurant prior to the new owners, seeing, loving and buying this great little spot. The restaurant is called The Whisk.

This is Simplicity S8790. Simplicity S8790 The pattern has 4 options, a dress, tunic, and two tops. I decided to make View A and I cut a size large. Having made the dress, however, I realize now that I could have cut the medium to get a more fitted look. Because the fabric had so much stretch, I could definitely have cut a smaller size. I may go back and alter it.

I made two changes to the dress. The first change was to the sleeves. I wanted to make the sleeves longer to give me the option of either folding them up or scrunching them. I mean, look how cute the extra fabric looks on the sleeves! I like the sleeve length, for sure. The other change I made is the length of the dress. The dress, as is, was a little short for me. So I decided to add some length to it which would make it more suitable for me. I added 11 inches to the length. The pattern was simple and easy to put together. It would be a good pattern for a beginner. Either choice on the pattern would be a good choice.

I purchased this tightly ribbed knit fabric from Nick of Time Textiles. It is perfect for this project. You could use several different knit fabrics for this dress, including an ITY knit or even the brushed and double brushed knits.

What I like most about this dress are the elastic waist and the length. I also love the color and also the pockets in the front is a plus. This is a great casual dress which looks good with tennis shoes, but I can’t wait to wear it with some wedges too. Too many options. I also think this would look really cute with a denim jacket. I like this pattern and I would definitely make it again. I wouldn’t mind making the exact same dress again but in a different fabric. Also, I like the hood, although I would never actually pull it up outside of taking these pics. It is not a typical hood though, because it kind of cups the face. Much more fitted than a normal hood, but I like it.