My first ever shirt-dress, DONE. I wore it for the first time today at work and it fits soooo well, it's very comfortable and the pockets are fab. I have joined in with the
Autumn of 1,000 Shirtdresses hosted by the loverly Mary at Idle Fancy.
It may have taken me a little longer than planned but as the new year started my main aim was to complete any UFO's in my sewing pile before embarking on any new dress-making adventures.
Let me tell you about the basics:
- Size: I cut a size 8 bodice, grading to a size10 for the skirt. 2cm added to the length of the skirt
- Changes: I adapted the back piece by removing the gathering at the back yoke
- Main fabric: Liberty's burgundy cotton (with a slight stretch) corduroy from Shakut's
- Inner fabric: Black and white polka dot cotton from Goldhawk Road
- Fastenings: Black press-studs from John Lewis, black hook and eyes from stash
- Interfacing: Didn't need any for the collar or button-stand due to the weight of the corduroy
A lot of time was spent hand-finishing all hems, facings and I chose the jumbo press-studs for the fastenings to create a cleaner line on the finished garment. I was 'slightly' worried about my press-studs popping open but they held fast all day with no embarrassing incidents thankfully!
I am very happy with the insides being as nice as the outsides - I bias bound the seams with a satin bias-binding which gives a little bit of glamour. As you know from my previous posts I had to chose a lighter weight fabric for the facings so I had the chance to pair the burgundy cord with black and white polka dot cotton which I think works very well - what do you think?
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| The 1,000 pin method to set in the sleeve! |
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| Hand basting the sleeve after pinning. |
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| The McCalls 6696, pretty on the inside too! |
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| Pocket bound with satin bias-binding. |
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| You can't quite see it in this photo but there's polka dot pocket linings too! |
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| The adaption of the back piece by taking the gathering out of the yoke worked really well. I had to create the two pleats you see above the waistband that 'almost' match exactly with the skirt darts! |
