Skip to main content

Simplicty 8014 - Rain Cloud Shirtdress!

I'm back with a new dress! 

Like I said, I have been super lazy and using commercial patterns for about a year now. This one is a shirtdress by Simplicity -- pattern number 8014.

I did a mix of multiple views to create my perfect shirtdress. I technically cut a View C but used the collar in View A and D. I think I made my cuffed sleeve and sleeve tabs differently than the pattern asked me to do, but I do what I want. Haha. 

Best of all, this dress already had a pocket bag pattern! Many times, I will create my own if there is enough room in the skirt portion.

I also had to change the grainline of the yoke on my pattern (ie. cut it the opposite direction). Normally, you would cut your back yoke on a shirt or shirtdress on a crosswise grain because it prevents stretching out and gives your garment more stiffness/structure. 

Well, that simply wasn't going to work with a one-way print! I would never hear the end of how I "cut it wrong" by anyone while I was wearing it.


Ta daaa!!! I cut a size 10 and really didn't have to make any adjustments except to hem length (of course). I probably took off only 2 inches or so and hemmed it with a 1 inch hem like I do on most hems.

This pattern has a LOT of pieces but I feel like that's typical with shirtdresses. It wasn't complicated, just a lot of steps. If you're someone who wants a quick sew, this pattern probably isn't for you. I sew very quickly, but this one took me a little longer. 

Let's talk about the PRINT!


It's these super cute smiling rain clouds!!! 


I saw this fabric and instantly knew I had to have it. I ended up with the last 3-ish yards of it from fabric.com! The print is by Riley Blake and called "Greatest Adventure" by Cinderberry Stitches. 

I like how the fabric is a PERFECT weight for a shirtdress. It was the exact weight I had been hoping for -- a thicker cotton that almost feels like a denim but.... not. Amazing! 



I'm so excited to have a go-to shirtdress pattern now in my wardrobe! I absolutely love shirtdresses and I never find good ones at retail stores. Now... look out for more shirtdresses! 

Next, I am working on McCall's "Learn to Sew" capelet (although I am WAY past the "learn to sew" stage.) I have created a lining for it since it didn't come with one. That's one of my biggest pet peeves! I cannot wear a jacket of any sort with NO LINING. I made a super awesome lining in my Burda jacket last year and the wool Burda coat the year or so before that. It made and it is a thousand times better than if I had just made it without one. 

Coats/jackets are actually my favorite things to sew and I am looking forward to the way this next one is going to go together!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Latch Hook Rug Update

A little under a month ago I received all of my supplies to take on one of the biggest long-term projects I have ever taken on - a self-designed latch hook rug. I don't know why, but I am clearly nuts. So beginning today I am posting photos each month, (preferably on the 1st of each month) progress of this gigantic shag rug. See how I started it here (scroll down past posting of my $10 dress).  This is a photo of it today:  Yes, I used the candelabra for scale. Haha.   This rug is really soft and is fun to run your fingers through.  It doesn't look like much was accomplished, but though the number of packages we have gone through of pre-cut latch hook rug yarn already I have calculated that  we've used over 2500 strands for this ie.) 8 packages. I also just ordered 10 more packages of lime green since that's what I ran out of first and 6 more packages of straw yellow. There is still quite a bit to go, but you see the blue row squares? Each of th
18 comments
Read more

DIY Trapeze Dress

I'm a pretty big fan of tent dresses (or trapeze dresses - call it what you want). They're simple, easy-to-make and you can have many variations of them. These are a fun style to wear for spring and summer!  See this DIY from a Good Housekeeping Crafts book from 1971 - photos at the end of my own trapeze top from a while ago! (Bear with me on the photos here - this book is quite cumbersome and hard to scan.)  Applique patterns, in case you wanted the dress to look EXACTLY like the photo. (But why?)  How to cut the fabric efficiently. (This is actually pretty important cost-wise for you - especially with something this big.)  Using pattern instructions from my patternmaking book from college, I created this swingy trapeze top a bit ago. I used sweater fabric from a thrift store find for the collar of this top.   I also opened up the back on the pattern to have a diamond shape.   It can easily be belted like in this photo fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Shingo Sato and the Art of Transformational Reconstruction

So I got really excited on my break at work today when I got an email from Burda about a webinar they're doing on a pattern technique called "Transformational Reconstruction" developed by Japanese designer Shingo Sato. I hadn't even heard of Shingo Sato until today let alone his design technique but oddly, it's sort of the path I'm going down with my designs anyway as seen with the Sunrise Panel dress as well as the Petra Dress and the pattern making involved in those designs. What I did there is perhaps a "light" version of Sato's where the darts and shaping are hidden in the seam lines. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that my design aesthetic focuses largely on color blocking, unusual seam lines, and a love of anything psychedelic. Note: All photos stolen from the internet. Sorry! I'm super-excited. Let me know if it's yours and I'll take it down.  Shingo Sato teaching.  More designs using
3 comments
Read more