GBSB shift dress by Tess Evelegh

Well, following on from my last post I did it! Cut it all out on Friday afternoon, sewed the main shell and finished it off on Saturday.

The Great British Sewing Bee Shift dress by Tess Evelegh.

I first spotted this in The Sew Magazine insert in their Sew Christmas 2015

Source www.sewmagazine.co.uk

I've always loved shift dresses though in my day, the 1960s, they were not so fitted and didn't really suit my much curvier figure. However on spotting this one I knew it was far more my thing.

 Now don't get me wrong my figure has never and never will be as slim or as willowy as the model here, but sometimes a little more shaping can do an awful lot to trim down your proportions, far more than burying it under metres of fabric.

So having printed out and taped together the free pattern I set to to fit it as best I could.

My fabric though was to be a recycled duvet cover I had purchased in a local charity shop. I loved the delicate trellis pattern and the fact that it had a border, which I could use to good advantage as the bottom of the dress.

 I don't claim to be an expert sewer though I am fairly competent and certainly prolific and luckily this pattern didn't take a lot of adjustment.The princess seams made my FBA (full bust adjustment) reasonably easy. Follow the link if you are unsure how to do this. It has been invaluable to me.

Truthfully for my next attempt I will just add a little more ease, for those long hot summer days which we are going to get this year!! However, though a close fit, it does feel good and I swear it does make me feel slimmer.

 As this was a patterned fabric I did try to pay attention to matching  the pattern at any seams where it was feasible to do so. They weren't all successful but for the most part I am pleased.

It was also important to align the darts in the bodice and skirt, which would probably show even more on a plain fabric!

 Finally I lined the dress with some plain cotton which I had bought to make some huge tablecloths and which had already been washed. It was no longer needed and as this was supposed to be a budget/recycled make, it was perfect for the job.

And voila!

It fits like a second skin and will most certainly be one of my go to patterns for the summer........

Thanks Sew Magazine, can't wait to make up another. 

In fact I have this lovely rose printed denim in my stash that has been calling to me for far too long................

Have a happy and productive week. Mine will include a mediaeval knight costume age 4 and a tin man costume age 8, so perhaps shift dress part 2 may have to wait a little!

TTFN

Jenny xx