FO: Travelling Dinner Lady Dress

 

I really wanted to make a shirt dress this year. It was in my sewing plans, set out in April. However due to time constraints I didn't get around to it until I returned from holiday at the start of September, when summer was essentially over - in Scotland at least. Despite knowing that I would get very little wear out of it before it was too cold, I decided to make it to wear to the Knickerblogger Glory meet up in Bath a few weekends ago.

Here's the breakdown:
 
Pattern Used

View 3 of Simplicity 6700, a 1960s pattern. I won this in Handmade Jane's giveaway. Jane referred to it as 'Dinner Lady Chic' (view 2 definitely is!) which is pretty funny. I hope I've gone a bit beyond that though :)

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I liked that it was similar to the infamous Lisette Traveler dress as I'd been thinking about buying that pattern for some time. Some vintage shirt dress patterns can look a little fancy for everyday wear, but I liked the simplicity of this pattern.
 

Fabric & Notions

Cotton chambray with vintage red cats eye buttons from my stash. I had intended the dress to be a neutral basic but couldn't resist adding the button, and I love the colour combination.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made

It was a 35" bust which fitted me perfectly across the shoulders without adjustment (always my problem area). I had to take in a chunk at the side seams from the underarms down to the waist as the straight shape was a little too straight to be flattering.

Would you sew it again and do anything different next time?

I would make it again and would probably not interface the collar pieces to make it a little softer looking. As it is, it looks a little uniform-like (maybe like a dinner lady's uniform?....). I might put side seam pockets in it next time. I'd been thinking of adding patch pockets to the front but I think it looks fine without. 

Did you use any new techniques?

None

Would you recommend the pattern to others?

Yes, but watch out for how straight it is. 

Cost

Pattern was free, fabric about £12 and buttons about 20p I think.

Conclusion
It's a great, wearable shirt dress pattern that I can see myself making more versions of. I wanted to make a 'wardrobe basic' item in a plain colour that would be easy to wear. I think this dress achieves that - I do wonder if it is a little uniform-like, but I don't mind that too much.
 

 Please excuse the weird dreamy faces, I was positioning myself so that you couldn't see my ginormous spot, that can be seen from space. On the plus side I only took 4 photos of the dress to get these, a big improvement from my usual 40. I'm not sure if I'm getting better at photographing myself, or if I just care less.

 K x