Seven (!) Dresses for Frocktober

I almost forgot to post for Frocktober! I haven’t joined in on the last few challenges but I thought – I love frocks, I can definitely do this one! I’ve made more than one dress this month so I thought I would condense it all into one post at the end of the month (and ended up almost forgetting to post at all).

Dress One:

This first one I’m not too happy with (on me), and will be giving away (to someone with a bigger bust – I think my biggest problem with Colette patterns is that I always forget they draft for a bigger bust, so I need to do some kind of adjustment). It’s the Colette Hawthorn in a polka dot chambray, which was lovely to work with. The dress doesn’t look too bad in the pictures, but in person it makes me feel oddly frumpy. I won’t say much more about it – you can see my blog post here.

Dress Two

The next is the Gillian Dress by Muse Patterns (TMS’s very own Kat!). You may recognise the fabric – it’s exactly the same stuff as in the modelled version. After I saw the release I asked Kat where she got the fabric from – and given that it was from one of our local stores, I went and nabbed some for myself. I’m not 100% of a copy cat because I accidentally put the wrap going the wrong way!

I lovelovelove this dress. It is SO comfortable (especially because of the slightly-spongy fabric), fits really well, and is super flattering (I need a defined waist). The yokes are also something I haven’t seen on any recent patterns (other than the Jenna Cardi) and really set this pattern apart from other knit wrap dresses.

You can see more photos and info on my blog post, here.

Dress Three

This is the wrap dress from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, and I love it. I made it from this lovely floral lawn, which was SO nice to work with – stable, but drapey and cool to wear, and pressed well. I’ve already gone back to the shop to buy a different colour way of the same stuff.

I’m pleased to say that most of Gertie’s patterns fit me pretty well from the envelope, and other than having to narrow the shoulders I don’t think I made any changes. And once made up, I liked it so much I went and made another one the next day (not photographed yet)

I haven’t blogged about this one yet – I have a bit of a backlog – but I’ll update this post when I do!

Dress Four

This lovely number is McCalls 6696, and is my first dress for the Spring of 1000 Shirtdresses being run by Mary of Idle Fancy. Another one I love (luckily, there is only one dud dress this month). I made it out of a polka dot chambray which is a bit stiffer than the stuff I used for the Hawthorn.

Again I don’t think I had to make many changes (I can’t remember!) other than lengthening it, moving the darts, and narrowing the shoulders (all things I commonly have to do because I’m tall, have a low set bust – it’s not that I need a new bra, they’re just low! – and have narrow shoulders). I changed the construction slightly to incorporate more topstitching rather than the handstitching required in the instructions.

You can see my blog post about the dress here. I already have fabric waiting to be cut into another one!

Dress Five

Another dress I haven’t blogged yet – out of all the dresses I’ve made this year, this is one of my favourites. The skirt is from Simplicity 2444, and the top is a pattern I had in an envelope, merely labelled “strapless bodice”. I think it’s probably Simplicity 4070, leftover from making this dress. I created the tucks on a rectangular piece of fabric before cutting out the pattern piece. The straps are just long rectangles I stitched together.

Dress Six

Dress number six is the new release by Colette, the Dahlia dress, made in polka dot pink linen and green linen leftover from the strappy dress. The bodice is made as is from the pattern, but I have some work to do in the bust area – probably I’ll need to take out some of the center front, and perform a “narrow shoulder” adjustment of some kind – I think the issue is that the sleeveless version doesn’t have the sleeves to create outward tension on the neckline, so it collapses inwards. It will be interesting to see how the sleeved version goes for me.

You can see more information and pictures on my blog, and my full review on the Curvy Sewing Collective.

Dress Seven

And ANOTHER unblogged dress (I told you I have a backlog! I also have two skirts, a top, and two pairs of trousers waiting to be blogged about). I made this one yesterday/today and AHH I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE PRINCESS SEAMS!!! I find them a lot easier to sew than darts, and they just look so much nicer on me. This dress is another combination of dresses – the bodice and sleeves were Vogue 8667, and the skirt is Simplicity 1606. I sat “were” because I altered the bodice to have a v-neck. The pattern fit so well out of the envelope (seriously, so well) that I decided to try and use this as a sloper – I took off and drafted a v-neck. I then created a small dart to the neckline which I rotated out into the seam.

Added to the green dress, this is another favourite from this entire year. Obviously I love linen as well as princess seams!

Okay, did I go overboard for Frocktober? It wasn’t intentional, I swear – but I have some time off at the moment and am making the most of it.