Dresses – Page 4 – Plum Kitchen

Now you’re probably wondering, does this woman make anything but shirts & shirt dresses? I do! But this particular make was for my sisters birthday (in December, so I’m only two months late…). It was originally going to be this pattern, but when Cashmerette released an extension to their popular Harrison shirt (see my version here), I decided to give that a crack instead. I think it turned out pretty well!

The pattern was released as a sleeveless dress, but the birthday girl definitely wanted sleeves. A sleeve guide to insert the original long sleeve was later released , but as its the middle of summer here in New Zealand, we decided to do short sleeves instead.

Oh sleeves. I do sound like a woman obsessed , but upper arm coverage is a serious business people! I’m still learning the ins and outs of arm syncs & such things, so I decided to use the Harrison shirt sleeve but make my own hack from this pattern , cutting it at elbow length and adding the faux cuff. Wrinkly elbow optional obviously.

Now buttons. Buttons , buttons and more buttons. While I dont mind doing 16 buttons holes, I do appreciate doing it with my lovely wizz bang Janome, the old Toyota might have sent me over the edge….! The cute wooden buttons are from Spotlight, at first I balked at so many small buttons, but actually the quantity meant no annoying gaping.

The princess seams give a nice fit over the bust, although I did trim some excess fabric off the hips , I think over all the sizing is true to the pattern measurements.

So, the curvy:

Harrison shirt dress by Cashmerette

Size: 20- true to size

Fabric: Chambray from Miss Maude

Difficulty: Just be careful tracing off the arm sync, all the matchy matchy stuff matters when it comes to arm holes/sleeves

Next time: I would again trim the hip seams, as they were a touch wide across, and make the collar a little smaller

Fuel: This make was fueled by Chardonnay & sister hustle!.

Will there be a sequel? I’m already planning one for myself…

So, shirt dress yes? Have I convinced you??

Kristina xxx

Here I am, back posing in the garden. At least now the garden has a floral theme right? This fabric caught my eye leaving a local (sadly closing down) fabric shop. I very nearly made it out the door with just what I went in for. Nearly. But it was so pretty, and I kept seeing fabulous dresses all over Pinterest, and it was 25 % off the sale price…what could I do?

I chose Simplicity 8014 for my first foray into Shirt dressing, and I’m pretty happy with it.

I made view D, but with view C hem. Well that was the plan. I actually got thoroughly confused and cut the hem for D, which meant when I tried to straighten it up, I ended up with a hem shorter than I intended (I generally consider my knees are for private consumption only) oh well! I chose not to add the pockets , I never actually put anything in them and feel like my hips are one area that probably does not need any additional fabric.

As I did with my Fielder dress I enlarged the sleeve for a comfortable fit, oh the thrill of being to raise my arms easily , often an issue for me with RTW shirts and dresses. I really like the faux cuff detail which I will use again .

The one thing I wasn’t so thrilled with was the fit at the back, the gathers were fine, but I ended up with a balloon of fabric underneath. No doubt this would be gathered in with the belt, but I felt the dress looked better on me without the belt.

samsung-04-feb-17-086 — Hmmm, what is going on under there???

The collar and pockets were fine, the instructions clear and it all came together well. Because the fabric is so busy I chose not to use a contrasting topstich colour, does make for a slightly easier life. It looks mostly like the one on the packet!

My next project is an extension of the Harrison shirt, I’m hoping the princess seaming will eliminate the bagging effect at the back. I’m going to add similar sleeves to this one though, I wish I could just throw caution to the wind and go sleeveless but I really feel more comfortable with upper arm coverage. Am I obsessed with sleeves??

samsung-04-feb-17-088 — I need to talk to my photographer about unfortunate reflections on my hair….eyes on the dress people

Have you made a shirt dress? Any tips and tricks gratefully received!

Kristina xxx

Category Archives: Dresses

Birthday lovely…

Getting shirty….again