Monday 12 October 2015

Dress 'D' - Stylish Dress book



This Japanese pattern book was a lovely spontaneous present from my husband, just because he thought I would like it.  He was right and I've looked and dreamed of making up the pattern since he gave it to me about 2 years ago. When I was pregnant there were a few smock top and tunic styles I thought would be good but of course I never got round to them.  However a trip to Merchant and Mills in Rye on a weekend away with pals a few months ago led to me coming home with 2 metres of dark blue chambray, perfect for a version of the dress shown on the cover. I am so pleased with the finished dress, I've already worn it 3 times since I finished it last week which is a sure sign of success!

First wear, a trip to the local park

My Dress 'D', Stylish Dress Book

Sleeve close-up of my Dress 'D', Stylish Dress Book

I love the style of this, and have seen so many great versions, particularly on Instagram (if you search for #stylishdressbook lots of versions of Dress D come up). I also admired Louise's versions and these versions - it seems to be a pattern people love to make multiple versions of!  What do you think of this style? It is very loose-fitting and billowy, a style I don't usually wear, but it's so comfy and I think it looks pretty stylish too. Have you sewn with any Japanese patterns?


Pattern used: Dress D from Stylish Dress Book

Size cut: S

Fabric: Dark blue chambray at £7 a metre from Merchant & Mills, bought 2 metres. I still have enough left for some toddler clothes too, yay!

Issues/changes I'd make:

  • As you can see in the image above, the instructions are pretty sparse! Now when, like me, you're used to the detailed instructions, photos & sewalongs most indie sewing pattern companies treat us too, this can be a bit intimidating at first. However I did find that the diagrams provided helped a lot and there were only a few moments of head scratching.
  • Next time I would go down to an XS to make it less billowy & lower the neckline as it's already a bit higher at the neck than I'd like.  
  • Both my front & back facing pieces were too short. I couldn't work out why as I checked and I'd definitely traced the right size & added seam allowance. Luckily it wasn't much of a gap so unstitching the facings and using a smaller seam allowance gave me enough room.
  • Add length if I make this again. There's a nice deep hem on this which I wouldn't want to sacrifice but I would like a bit extra length so I'd need to add this on.
  • The pocket placement seemed a bit off to me. They seem to be placed really far to the sides and I wasn't sure about the look of this. However I've realised maybe that is the style as I've seen a few high-street tunic style dresses with side patch pockets recently.
Cost: The pattern was a present and the thread was left-over so the total was £14 for the fabric.

15 comments:

  1. Ohhhh I LOVE your version. The dark chambray is perfect for this dress. I love my versions. Thank you so much for linking to my dresses, made my day! Such a comfy dress to wear, I bet you will make more!

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    1. Thanks Louise! Did you have any problems with the facings? I just can't work out what I did wrong.

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    2. I seem to remember redrawing the facings yes. That defiantly rings a bell.

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  2. Also your husband bought you a sewing book without nudging! Am in awe what a fab hubby! Louise

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    1. haha I know, I'm very lucky! Though I think if he'd known then how much space all the fabric would take up he might not have done anything to encourage my habit!

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  3. Beautiful fabric for it! I just love the shape of those sleeves/armholes!

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    1. Thanks Jo! Yes the sleeves were really what swayed me to this pattern, and it's just so comfy to wear.

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  4. It is lovely. Great fabric and shape. I sewed a top from Simple Modern Sewing, unblogged but I like it. I was tidying up a few days ago and found a folder of traced japanese patterns!

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    1. Thank you! Ooh that's a good find that you've got them all traced already!

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  5. This is beautiful. The chambray is such a gorgeous colour and perfect for the style of dress. Love it!

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    1. Thanks Helen! I will definitely be sewing more with chambray that's for sure!

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  6. Love the dark chambray and this pattern is a perfect match - looks super comfy! Am thinking I need a chambray dress in my life!

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    1. Thanks Emma! Definitely go for it with a chambray dress, it's so comfy!

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  7. I love this on you :) I've never tried a Japanese pattern, mostly because I'm afraid the fit wouldn't work on me at all! The styles are really appealing, though.

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    1. Thanks Morgan! It's not really my usual style at all but I'm really enjoying it and am wearing it a lot.

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