Solar Sundress

Solar Sundress – George+Ginger

Kristi strikes again! Another pattern knocked out of the ball park.

You’ve probably seen this dress floating around Instagram and TikTok… Mini length with attached shorties (with pockets!).

Super cute and perfect for summer, right? Well, now you can make your own! Woot!

The pattern features a mini length dress with an attached playsuit underneath and a cute crossover eyelet strap on the back.

The shorties have no front and back center seams, and feature a gusset and side pockets.

Super easy to sew and wow… what a perfect fit!

Solar is designed for 4way stretch knits with good recovery. Fabric choice will really influence fit with this one.

Amount of stretch is also super important. I graded my dresses from Range 10 bust to Range 18 hips and with the right fabric I have no issues slipping into it.

And if you’re wondering… yes, you do need to lower the whole thing for bathroom breaks. Just like with a one-piece swimsuit (If that’s a deal-breaker for you, it’s super easy to make the shorts as separates 😉).

And talking about swimsuits… Solar has so many possible uses and is sooooo easy to modify/hack to your wants and needs. All the while maintaining the awesome fit and cute look.

Here are some that I made 😉

1 – Dress-less

This is perfect for the warmer days just to lounge around in, to make it as a swimsuit if you don’t want to have the extra layer of the dress when splashing around, for the gym/sports… it’s.so.comfortable!

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The weather has been in the 90° range lately and this has been my go to for at home wear.

And if you, for any reason, need an extra layer… so cute paired with the paranoid shirt!

This gauzy white Paranoid is definitely one of my most worn items. It just goes with everything!

2 – As a Top (with separate shorts)

Not a dress person? The Solar makes for the perfect summer top!

Just a matter to cutting at the desired length and omitting the shorts.

The attached bra is fully lined and offers great support.

The only mod you need to make for this is to double the height of your band and fold it in length before attaching it, as you would with the LBB, for example.

As i mentioned above, you can also make the shorts as a separate piece if that’s your preference.

You would just need to adjust the cut at the top of the shorts to the waist mark instead of the under bust mark and add a separate waistband.

Alternatively, you can leave the waist height as is, add elastic to the top, fold it over, and top stitch it. That way you have a higher waist. This is what I’ve opted to do with mine.

Ive also added 2” to the inseam length of these because I plan on wearing them as stand alone shorts as well.

Also, if you don’t want/need pockets *gasp*, it’s just a matter of not adding them. 😉 You’ll still need the side panels, though.

3 – Dress without shorties

I still had a bit of this cotton jersey leftover from my Every Day’s a Weekend dress and really wanted a Solar made out of it because the fabric is so light and breathable, perfect for hot days.

One problem though. Not enough stretch for me to be able to pull it over my hips.

Solution: make it without the shorts!

The process is exactly the same as with the top.

Another little mod I made with this one is to lengthen it a bit. Just added about 4-5” to the bottom of the skirt.

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And I can still choose to wear it with the separate shorts underneath or not 😉

4 – Maxi

And last, but definitely not least… a maxi length!

Omg… so in love with this one!!

Once again, I left the shorts out. I feel that for the maxi it would be a bit more impractical. Plus, this fabric also doesn’t have the necessary percentage of stretch.

Another mod I made on this one: I didn’t line the bra. Instead, I used one layer of a stronger Ponte.

I don’t need a lot of support and the main fabric doesn’t mark the stitching line, so I decided to go with one layer only.

That’s all for now folks! 😄

Bottom line is… No mater what take on this pattern you take, the results are always fantastic! I love every single one of mine.

SOLAR SUNDRESS – George+Ginger

xxx

Livia

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