I have made this dress especially for a fundraising morning tea at my work later this month. It’s highly appropriate as I am a lab manager and we will be fundraising for the ovarian cancer research foundation in memory of a colleague.
I bought a scant 1.5m of this Robert Kaufman ‘science fair’ fabric last year, so the itch to stitch chai shirt dress was a good way to eke out a dress, using contrast collar and waistband. It also helped that my fabric was non-directional. The chai dress has a less full skirt than I would usually go for, but still A-line. I think this style of shirt dress shares some similarities with a (sleeveless) lab coat ;o)
This one is a digital (PDF) sewing pattern, and I was happy to see it has the A0 printing option (no sticking – yay!) The pattern pieces cover 4 pages but you only need to print certain pages, depending on your view or cup size. Yes – this one comes in multiple cup sizes with a handy size chart to help you work out what to cut/make. I still made a toile as I hadn’t worked with patterns from this designer – but I needed have, it fit me fine with no adjustments necessary. The instructions were easy enough to follow and the pieces went together nicely (but I have made quite a few shirts and shirt dresses before). I can see myself making it again in the sleeved version, or maybe the shirt version for work. It features a collar with collar stand, underbust gathering onto a waistband and an easy centre front button closure, without a separate placket.
It could have been fun to take some photos in the lab but we have a strict Personal Protective Equipment policy (including fastened lab coat) – so I would not have been able to get close to anything interesting to show the dress! Instead I’ve taken lobby photos – I thought the colours worked well with those in the fabric ;o)
And yes it has pockets! Perfect for carrying around some (clean unused) petri dishes? I picked clear plastic buttons for this project as I thought they echoed the bubbles in the print and remind me of the glassware and plasticware that we use in the lab.
Project summary
pattern: itch to stitch chai shirt dress
fabrics: Robert Kaufman science fair from Make It Fabrics
notions: hemline buttons from spotlight
Love this dress and the story behind it! Makes me want to go look at the science fabrics 🙂
LikeLike
there are so many fun ones out there, I saw a second science fair range and they are all really great ;o)
LikeLike
Such a great dress. The fabric is amazing.
LikeLike
That fabric is so great!!! Isn’t it wonderful when a pattern fits you right out of the envelope? It’s like a unicorn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the multicup sizing must have had a lot to do with it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a pattern I have on my list, glad to see it worked well for you. Now all I have to do is find the pattern that I know I’ve already printed and put it together! Yours looks lovely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see the lab coat inspiration you mentioned. I also really appreciate the thoughtful details, like the clear buttons. Great job! Especially given that you had so little fabric to work with!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was such a fun dress to put together ;o)
LikeLike
Nice job and I love the print!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perfect dress for your fund raising occasion! Great planning! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your dress and the fabric it’s made out of! As a science teacher I think I need one just like it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! There are so many fun science fabrics out there, it was hard to choose just one ;o)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a fun print! I love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a cool fabric choice – a real talking point I love the contrasting collar and waistband. Didn’t know that Itch to Stitch did multiple cup sizes, I’ve not used tried them before. Is that for all their patterns?
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks, It looks like the multiple cups sizes is a feature on all of the patterns!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great dress!
LikeLiked by 1 person