When life gives you limes. . . make a Keyhole cut out T-shirt dress ;-)

As a child of the 80s, I was surrounded by neon colors and hated them.  Color me surprised when I found myself loving the lime green/chartreuse/neon green that has been having a moment during the last few seasons. Back in September 2022, Pantone featured “Love Bird” (an exotic green with a lively character) as part of the spring/summer 2023 palette.  

I know that my love affair with this color will likely be fleeting so I chose to incorporate it into my wardrobe with a quick and simple project.  Enter my tried and true and used 50-11 times Mccalls 6886 pattern.  If you’ve followed me for a while, you have seen this pattern about 50,621 times.  I absolutely love it because it is easy to sew, fits well and can be used as a base for numerous modifications.  As a Minerva Brand Ambassador, I am fortunate to have access to their amazing variety of Minerva Core fabrics.  For this project, I chose a Minerva Core Range Cotton Lycra Stretch Jersey in the color Citrus green.  The brightness just brings along its own sunshine and helped me get out of a sewing rut.  

I wanted short sleeve dress.  I have a ton of sleeveless dresses, lots of dresses with long or 3/4 sleeves but basically none with short sleeves.  To make this iteration of this pattern different, I decided to add a keyhole cut out.  I love cut outs and they have definitely been having a moment in the last couple of years.  I was eager to get the project done so I didn’t do the best planning for the cut out and learned the hard way that I really should have measured and drawn that cut out with more diligence. Check out the video tutorial for tips!!!!  

After I got that part done, I wanted to add a hood but realized I only had enough fabric for a hood or sleeve but not both.  I decided to keep to the original spirit of the project and do the sleeves.  I am pretty happy with the results and can’t wait to wear it out!