As Spring is quickly approaching and Summer is nearly on the horizon, I’ve been getting so inspired to sew! Since I’m working on so many projects right now and haven’t had much time to photograph them, I thought it would be fun to share my sketches with you and show you a little of my design process. I’m not the best artist, and I don’t totally have the fashion sketching thing down, but at least it all comes out the way I imagine it in my head.

So what is on the agenda? (Or at least in theory… I never have time for all of my projects!) First, I’m thanking the fashion gods for allowing ruffles to be in season this year because I absolutely love them. I’m looking to make a couple of dresses that I think would be absolutely perfect for weddings since they are great for dancing in. I’m also planning to work with lace – what a shocker – but it’s the most feminine way to make tops and dresses, and I can’t say no!

The first is a blue, strapless cocktail dress made from an embossed neoprene scuba fabric. I fell in the love with the fabric first, and since it is so busy and structured, I thought it would lend itself perfectly to a simple silhouette with a little volume.

Another dress I have in mind is a pink and white striped, drop waist ruffled dress. I had planned to make mine red like this dress I found at Nordstrom, but sometimes you just go to the store and a fabric speaks to you. This pink and white striped shirting fabric (similar fabric here, could not find the same one online) is so light, so it will be my go to in the sweltering days of the Summer. I may even line the dress… or even make it reversible!? (I told you I can get overzealous.)

Yet another dress? Yes. I really want a version of this guy. It’s just so expensive and I just can’t bring myself to buy it. There have been a couple of copies made that are similar like this one and this one, but I still don’t have a reason to spend that much on a dress that I can’t even wear to someone’s wedding since it’s white. So it’s time to make it. This one will be a challenge for me since I don’t make a ton of structured and non-stretch pieces, but I want to work on it. I’m considering using a stretch lace to make it a little simpler to fit.

The last piece I’m really excited about is a white off the shoulder top. I know, this sounds like every other shirt I already own, but I actually don’t have anything that works well to compliment to the many voluminous skirts I have collected. Somehow in my ridiculous assortment of white and white lace tops, I don’t have any that are dressy and tight, so it makes pairing fancy skirts difficult. This piece will probably be the first that I tackle since I’m so anxious to have it in my closet!