I was looking for a simple sun dress to make. I found this pattern and got the fabric from Online fabrics at a bargin price of £2.25 a metre! It's really lovely to sew with, soft polycotton, so with any luck it won't shrink either!
The pattern is really easy to put together. I'm really pleased with how simple it actually was. I lined the top with just plain white polycotton, instead of using the fabric for the rest of the dress to make sure I didn't get lots of strange layered patterns. I also top-stitched it with a dark blue to match. I spent ages trying to get the tension right on my machine, but it just wasn't having it. Fortunately the strange stitches are on the reverse.
The lapped zip went in really well, although I put it in a bit too low and have quite a gap at the top.
First time I tried it on the dress was too big at the top of the bodice. Not a problem I generally have! So I managed to take in the side seam a bit and unpicked the zip to make it a bit smaller around the back too. The fit is now just about perfect.
One of these days I'll buy a dressmakers dummy to hopefully make this easier, but at the moment it's just me. I have to measure carefully and hope the finished size is right. Hemming is interesting, but I use kirby grips for the hair to estimate the length while I try the dress on. It actually works quite well!!
So my bargain sundress is ironed and ready to go in the suitcase to catch the Gibraltar sun next week! I'm still debating whether to put a line of blue ribbon round the waist or bottom of the hem. Any thoughts?
Great dress. Off yo buy the pattern now. Thank you
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