I got it in my head that I wanted a broderie anglaise dress for the summer. So, a few weeks ago I ordered some wine coloured fabric from Minerva crafts for £3.99/m. Of course, with the holes in it, I needed a lining too and picked up some wine coloured polycotton for only £2.20/m on a trip to Fabricland in Brighton with my oldest friend, the lovely and talented Rachael Kay.
Now, I've had a go at some of the lovely retro style dresses with full skirts, as favoured by the fabulous Dolly Clackett but I just feel like an 8-year-old. I'm quite a lot older than that and I really don't feel comfortable in that kind of style unless I'm dressing up for a party. So time to embrace my advancing years with a shift dress. I didn't have anything in my pattern stash that quite fitted the bill, so I Frankenpatterned it with the bodice of Simplicity 2444 and the skirt from a vintage pattern. I adjusted the position of the pleats on the front of the skirt to just about match the darts on the bodice.
This is one of the first things I've made that I'm actually really happy to wear. It doesn't feel too "home made" (as long as you don't look at the inside of the seams - I might have to finish them with some ribbon or something as they are fraying already). My hem is a bit wonky because I hate hemming, and viewed from the wrong angle, the pleats at the front of the skirt can look a bit like I'm concealing a kangaroo pouch, but y'know it's ok.
I am posing in my little back garden, having managed to find a spot where you can't see too much evidence of Audrey (our chicken). Photography by my 6-year-old. Let's just say there were a few out-takes...
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