Just a quick post about this dress I’ve completed this week.

This dress is Simplicity Pattern 2406 by Cynthia Rowley, view C, the fabric is a brushed cotton I ordered online from Ditto Fabrics (first order with them and really happy, the fabric came through really quickly) and I LOVE it! That isn’t to say there aren’t modifications I plan to make should I make it again and I definitely will (I have at least another 2 planned in my head).

mmm cosy, warm brushed cotton

Firstly, I think it is too wide for me through the shoulders. This could be down to size, I think I could get away with making a size smaller. According to the back of the envelope, my measurements put me as a solid size 14. From experience I know that would result in something waaaaay to large for me. I would normally make a size 10, but looking at the finished measurements for the bust as detailed on the back of the pattern packet, I wasn’t sure that this would include enough ease as seen in the pictures, so I decided to split the difference and make the 12. Now, the dress isn’t so large it’s falling off me, but it doesn’t particularly like sitting on my shoulders and likes to gape quite a lot at the front when I’m sat at my desk. This could be down to my sewing, having to jump between instructions for the different views meant that I kind of messed up when it came to sewing and attaching the facings, and as you can see in the picture the facings have a tendency to move out of place. Is this due to my sewing or the way the dress fits me? I can’t be sure, it all sits fine on a hanger. I think my only option is to make another one and try the size 10 pattern, I already know I would like a linen or and a light denim version for the summer.

The second planned change is the closure at the back. The back of this dress is designed to be quite open, with an option for adding a zip. I ended up sewing the back up a bit further up than the pattern specified (making sure it covered any bra strap) and using a self-covered button in matching fabric at the top to create a sort of keyhole effect I guess. This works fine, but I can just pull the dress on over my head without unfastening the button and to be honest I am never completely secure with my buttons, especially when I have to sew the button loop myself, I keep thinking it is too easy for the button to simply fall out of the loop (it hasn’t by the way and I’ve been wearing this dress for 2 days straight). I think when I make the next couple of versions of this dress I will make one where I just sew the back straight up, and one where I insert a zipper. This will also allow me to adjust the ever so slightly back facings.
Other than that, I love this dress! Really, really. I was so in love with it and impatient to be wearing it that I didn’t make the sash to go with it but just grabbed one of my belts out of the drawer. I will make the sash, I think it will look good, but I wanted to wear the dress NOW. Part of the reason for that is that with this dress I gave my first attempt at sewing pockets a go. OK so they’re only in seam pockets I hear you say, big whoop. Well, I had never really considered myself a pocket person before so was going to leave them out altogether and the instructions in the pattern had me confused, but thanks to Google, I discovered a few tutorials out there that really helped and made the whole thing a breeze. Now I can’t imagine this dress without the pockets (they are also in the brushed cotton and so cosy).

pockets, they’re just great aren’t they?

I’m not entirely sure I got the pockets completely level, I really need to take more care when transferring my pattern markings to the fabric (and in general with just the lining up and cutting out of pattern pieces) I would really love a large table to use for pattern tracing and cutting but I need to make do with my carpeted floor. But really, who cares? This is my first go at pockets, they’re roughly in the same place, my hands can reach them both and I am comfortable in this dress. The only teeny thing I might do is see about maybe blind stitching the facing down in a couple of places, but to do that I would have to be not wearing it for long enough to get the hand sewing needles out. For right now I will just content myself with looking for some fabric to make the next couple of versions 😀