At last, after several false starts and interruptions, here is the finished dress. To make this simple colour-blocked shift dress I used my old faithfull Prima dress pattern. The Jade Jersey is from Fabricland in Salisbury and the multi-colour Ponte Roma Jersey was bought online from the Fabric Godmother.  Having copied the front body pattern onto a piece of folded paper and transferred all marking I then slashed the pattern from top shoulder seam to below the bust dart at the same time avoiding the top of the body dart. I cut the pattern and added notation that 5/8″ seam allowance was to be added when cutting out the fabric. I cut out the front, back and yoke pieces from the two different fabrics and then double checked which sleeve needed to be cut in which fabric.  The neckline is faced with plainJade jersey. There is triple stitch zig-zag inside the facing to ensure that it stays inside. All hems are finished with my favourite  wide twin-needle topstitching.  The dress went together quickly and well – all I need now is some slightly warmer weather so that I can wear it!

                                             Front view                                              Back view

When I bought this Black Watch Tartan suiting from Fabricland, I had planned to make a pinafore dress using the Prima Shift dress pattern with the addition of a bias frill at the hem. I have re-drawn the pattern as by now it was becoming very tatty and I thought – New Year, New copy of the pattern. I carefully laid out the Front and Back body pieces, taking special notice of the tartan design lines to ensure that they matched up at the side seams. I cut out those pieces plus the two bias hem frills and the neckline facings. I would wait and see how the construction and fitting went before deciding how to finish the armholes. There was a great deal of fabric still laid out on the cutting board so I decided to add some 3/4 sleeves. Again I ensured that the pattern matched along the front bodice and top of the sleeves. I made up the dress until I got to second fitting stage and then, as there was still a length of fabric remaining decided to try for a bias-cut cowl collar. I cut the bias section 25″ long x 15″wide and tacked to the neckline. It seemed to look OK so I proceeded to machine in place. Once the dress was finished with wide-spaced double top-stitching to sleeve and bias frill hems I tried it on again. Now I am not sure about the collar.  I will leave it a while and if necessary will remove the collar and replace with the neckline facings that I had prepared at the beginning of the project. The joy of making your own clothes means that you can always change your mind!

                         The Bias Cowl Collar                                                                  The Bias Hem Frill

Yes, it’s that old favourite back again. Using the bodice of the Prima shift dress pattern I made up some Black Ponte Jersey into a very simple, but I hope useful, plain Black Dress. There are 3/4 length straight sleeves with slightly gathered caps plus a skirt of unpressed box pleats. There is no zip as the dress is “pullover” style. The facing is also of Ponte jersey which can be bulky but I under-stitched with a triple zig-zag and then used my favourite wide-spaced twin needle to top stitch. I also twin needle top-stitched the hems of the sleeves and the skirt. This dress has been made with suficient “ease” so that if required, I can wear a blouse or polo neck tee underneath. I have sufficient fabric left over to be able to use it for some colour blocking in my next Ponte jersey project so watch this space!

the finished dress

line drawing

Back in October 2014 I blogged about the great dresses on the gudrunsjoden website that had inspired me to make something  similar. In the last days of 2014 I finally managed to complete the first of what I suspect will be many versions of these dresses. I cut out and embroidered the Navy ponte jersey purchased from Fabricland in Salisbury but the project was then put on the “postponed” pile so that I could concentrate on Christmas items. The completed dress is a success. I embroidered two different motifs, one at the neckline and another on the left sleeve. The designs are from the Brother range, I think Boutique but cannot be sure. I used a dark Purple/Aubergine thread for the embroideries as I plan to wear the dress with a co-ordinating polo neck tee (from Edinburgh Woollen Mill) and opaque tights (from M & S). Sewing notes: All seams are stitched with a small straight stitch on the machine and then overlocked. The neckline facing is cut from a remnant of Black satin. There is no zip in the dress as it is “pullover” style but there are bust and body darts to improve the shaping and fit. The neckline and hems of the sleeves and the dress are topstitched with a wide-set twin needle. I am very pleased with the result and can foresee that the dress will get a lot of wear either with the polo neck tee or with the hand knitted infinity scarf mentioned in a previous blog.

                  neckline embroidery                                                         sleeve embroidery