a simple shift from Simplicity

Well, I’ve finished the shift dress that I wrote about in my last post, made from Simplicity 2798, and I’m quite pleased with it. It hasn’t got the same kind of ‘va va voom’ as some of my earlier dresses – it’s a neat little shift, a bit demure and, especially as it’s grey, it is rather sober looking. However, I do think that there’s a place in my wardrobe for a dress like this – there are occasions when a winter day dress doesn't need to dazzle. It looks good with flat boots or dressed up with heels and the colour goes with lots of things. Anyway, let me allow you to see for yourselves –

Of course, I would normally be wearing it with a cardi or jacket - I definitely wouldn’t be standing around in the snow wearing only a sleeveless dress. As you can imagine, the picture was taken in double quick time – there is only so much suffering I am prepared to endure!

I liked that this dress has princess seams which were easy to fit (helped, of course, by the fact that this pattern gives separate pieces for A/B, C and D cups). When it came to pressing the seams my new pressing mitt (that I showed you in a previous post) was invaluable – I really do recommend getting one of these if you are going to be constructing a princess seam garment. It allows you to shape the curved seams really nicely.

As this is a ‘Project Runway’ inspired pattern, there are various options for ‘designer additions’. I used the front placket and the side tabs and added topstitching. Here is a close up of the yoke

I used a heavy black silk thread for the topstitching – it doesn’t show up from a distance but, close-up, I think it gives the dress a ‘finished’ look.

The pattern doesn’t give instructions for lining but I did fully line it, which is pretty easy to do. I cut the lining by using the pattern pieces for the Front, Back and Yoke as they were. I pinned together the pieces for the Upper Side Front and the Lower Side Front (overlapping them and folding in the horizontal ease on the lower piece) so that the pocket was no longer there and cut them out as one piece, like this -

As this is a winter dress, made in wool crepe, it definitely needed to be lined but for summer I’m planning an unlined version in linen or cotton – I think it will make a nice, easy to wear (and make) dress. But before I get around to that I’ve got a few more winter garments in the planning stage ….