After the previous iteration – a non-fitting toile – of this Lady Skater dress I have adjusted the pattern and intended to make another version of the dress. I WILL have a Lady Skater dress in my wardrobe!

Adjustments made to the pattern were:-

1)Add 1 inch to side seams at bust,

2)re-draw neckline by bringing in shoulder seams at neck edge by 1 inch,

3)re-draw armscye to make shoulders narrower,

4)Add 1 inch to underarm seam on sleeve to match additional width added to bodice,

5)make sway back adjustment,

6)add 1½ inches to the side seams at waist,

7)add 1½ inches to side seams of skirt

8)add 6 inches to the length of the skirt.

These are all fairly minor adjustments but in the final analysis made a world of difference.

I used 3 metres (total cost £15.00) a lovely Snakeskin print Ponte Roma purchased in March last year from M.Rosenberg & Son at the Sewing for Pleasure show at the NEC, Birmingham. Although the colour appears Black/Grey/White in the photographs it is actually various shades from Olive Green thru’ to Ivory. Even after lengthening the skirt by 6 inches, I still had some fabric left over – possibly enough to make a cap-sleeved top to wear with the Cream circle skirt.

So, onto the construction. I mostly used the overlocker for stitching the dress. At first fitting I reduced the length of the back bodice. The disadvantage of a very upright posture is that I always have to make a sway back adjustment which can sometimes lead to strange centre back seams but fortunately for this dress I had cut the back bodice on the fold. The fact that the waistline is now cut slightly on the bias is lost in the intricacies of the print. I also graded away some of the length on the front bodice. I felt that the sleeves were a little too short and added a narrow double-folded cuff of 1¼ inches. The centre back seam of the skirt and top-stitching of the neck band were straight-stitched on the sewing machine. For the hem on the skirt I used Sian of Kittenish Behaviour’s suggestion: Having run the hemline through the overlocker I then turned the scant ¼ inch to the wrong side and top stitched with a single row of straight stitching.

The dress has gone together very well and now fits perfectly. Notice how great it looks with my ‘feature’ wide belt.

  It was not until I tried on the completed dress and ‘swished’ about in front of the mirror that I noticed how I had achieved a lovely chevron effect at the side seams of the skirt and that the pattern matched thru’ from front bodice to front skirt. A complete accident!