I’m so happy to post about my new favourite dress!
This is Simplicity 2444; the dress that every man and his dog has made. Well maybe not the dog.
I used an amazingly buttery soft cotton lawn from Textile Express. I really recommend the company. Great prices, they’re very helpful, they send samples and the delivery is super quick!
The aeroplanes are varied in size and the repeat isn’t too obvious meaning no pattern matching to do.
I made a few alterations to the dress.
I did a full lining as you can see. I also took a massive wedge out of the bust which helped as both a small bust adjustment and a petite bodice adjustment, two for one.
As this pattern contains 3 inches of bust ease I think anyone with a bust larger than the rest of their measurements probably won’t need a fba. If I’d been a 34 C instead of a 34 A I’d have been fine.
I tried a lapped zipper for the first time and after a bit of head scratching I suddenly got it! The result was astounding. So professional looking and neat. I love it!
I wore the dress to work last week but no one was fussed.
“Hello!? I’m wearing a plane print dress! What’s wrong with you people?”
But when I wore it to this weekend’s meetup in Birmingham I got a phenomenal response. I was so grateful for everyone’s lovely comments.
You really made me very happy ladies!
The meet up was great fun. I met loads of new sewists, added some new blogs to my reading list and got to chat with lovely familiar faces who were in attendance.
I managed to not spend much (£9 for this metre of Liberty golfer print lawn! Thanks to Barry’s Fabrics giving the meetup group a discount) and I was fortunate with some excellent swaps. More on those later methinks
Thanks to Kat, Marie and Claire for another great day. It isn’t easy herding so many sewists about; I don’t envy them.
I hugged everyone goodbye and Claire packed me off to my Megabus with some lovely cookies she’d made.
I arrived home very happy but very tired.
I really do recommend going to meet ups if you’ve never been to one. It’s a great way to make new friends and have a fun day out. Excellent shopping is usually involved too!
Who’s off to the London meet up in early August? I will be if I ever book my train tickets.
65 Comments
LOVE!!!!!!!! I so loved this fabric when you posted it and think you did it total justice with this dress! Good to know about the bust adjustment. Do you have a tutorial you followed or info in a book for how to do that adjustment, I guess it’s a reverse FBA? I would definitely need to do the same adjustment (and for other patterns too) and would love to know what you did. Thanks Amy!
(And, really, you don’t know if dogs have made this or not….there are some pretty talented canines in our midst. 😛 )
Haha perhaps the dogs are smarter than I think. I’ll email you over something for adjusting the bust on this dress and the link to Moonbeam’s sba explanation which is good for patterns with regular darts!
Fabulous, thanks so much!
Hi Amy, got your email and responded to it. Thank you so much!! You are too kind.
You are very welcome 🙂
Colleagues sometimes just don’t ‘get it’ when it comes to awesome garments, I’m afraid! This is gorgeous, lovethe colour and the print is so whimsical!
Thanks for your lovely comments!
I love this dress so much. Amazing fit. And a brilliant fabric choice x
Thank you! It’s much appreciated!
I absolutely LOVE the plane fabric!
Meee tooooo!!
That plane fabric is so cool, I can’t imagine how anyone could not comment on it! I love your Liberty fabric choice too. I had forgotten there was an August meet-up in London, hopefully I’ll be able to make it, thanks for the reminder!
Awesome. Hopefully see you there then. Thanks for your lovely comments!
Adorable! I can’t believe your colleagues didn’t give you any dress love! Love that print and the summery style.
Thank you! They’re probably sick of me after me made may
Looks so lovely – just so right for the summer just about to finish my little floral number
talk soon gillianx
Oh thank you Gillian! I’m looking forward to meeting up
Love the airplanes! From far away you might not notice but close up they’re there! So cool!
Thank you! It’s like a magic eye, the closer you get the clearer you see them pop out!
I love those magic eye thingies. No wonder I’m loving your dress. 🙂
It’s cute. I think it’s always a good sign when non-sewers don’t comment – it means you’re not wearing something that looks like it was made in a home economics class or that is a bit of a fashion faux pas!
I’m making pyjamas using a lawn from Textile Express so I know how soft and lovely their lawns are.
Oooh pajamas. They’ll be soooo cosy and soft. You won’t want to get out of them! Can’t wait to see the finished product! I’m a total convert to cotton lawn. I bet you could make anything out of it and still love it.
what a lovely dress, and the fabric is fabulous! I am always equal parts relieved and disappointed when friends and colleagues don’t comment on me-mades: they must not look too patched together, but I would like my work to be acknowledged!
You’re so right! A very fine line of “Does their silence mean I am being complimented or insulted?” I think this time it meant “Stop going on about all your bloody sewing Amy!”
i love it! i have to get started on this dress before “summer” goes! and are your colleagues blind not to have commented?
Thank you! Yeeeah get cracking with yours lady. Try out my theory about not needing a fba. Perhaps my colleagues aren’t impressed with aeroplanes and I have to go BIGGER to impress them?
This is SUCH a cute dress – I honestly can’t believe that work people didn’t comment on it! What’s wrong with people!?! It was lovely seeing you by the way, hopefully see you in August ;o)
Thank you! Sorry you didn’t get your hands on the offcuts. I think after this post calling them out on it, my work mates might never comment on my outfits again, OOPS! Lovely seeing you as always m’dear x
You know I love it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how soft it was after the swapsie on Saturday! Hope you don’t think I’m a crazy stalker for copying and getting the orange version…I promise I won’t make the exact same dress!! What did you use for the lining btw? – it looks equally as soft as the planes…
God I know. I have to stop myself stroking the fabric while I’m wearing the dress or I’ll look like a lunatic! You’ll soon learn the temptation. For my lining I used a nude coloured poly crepe. I’m didn’t want the dress to stick to my tights you see. I so nearly bought the orange instead of the green, know whatever you make will turn out lovely!
i LOVELOVELOVE that fabric. gorgeous dress. 🙂
Thanks very much! I’m pretty damn happy with it
Love that fabric – always on the hunt for small prints that don’t require fabric wasting print matching! I’m going to try and make it to the meet up on the 3rd and it’d be great to see you again 🙂
Oooh yay! Would be good to see you again. I’ll tell you again in person but congratulations on your new pattern release!
Aw I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to see this in real life, it’s so cute! My colleagues have mostly stopped commenting on my clothes too, but I think they’re just too used to me by now!
Bah they’ve just run out of superlatives for your makes. Don’t worry too much about missing out on the meet up. There’s always others and you wouldn’t have appreciated the thundering rain we got in the middle of our walk! Sure I’ll see you soon 🙂
Love love love love love! Just fabulous! I’ve loved that fabric since you bought it and it looks divine in dress form! Feel,very proud of yourself as you look amazing in it!
Oh you are so sweet. Thanks VK! I think my smug little face proves how much I love it teehee 🙂
Hi Amy, we got the last scrap of your green fabric on Saturday!! Phoebe made it into a bookmark for Father’s day when we got home (with a plane button she bought in the Rag Market). I couldn’t for the life of me remember where you said you bought the fabric, so am very pleased to see this post – 2m of the orange will be winging their way to me shortly!
Oh what a good idea. I’m sure that went down well. I’m glad you bought some of the orange colourway. I was really torn between the orange and green so I’ll get to live vicariously through you. Happy sewing!
Hi, it was great meeting you on Saturday and I still can’t stop thinking about and drooling over your dress and that fabirc (thanks for the link :D) Birmingham was such good fun and I hope to see you at another meet up. until then I am looking forward to following your blog. speak soon xxx
Thanks Hannah! Great meeting you too. Sure we’ll all see each again soon, it’s too much fun to not meet up 🙂 xx
I completely agree 😀
The dress looks great – cute print!
And I love the golfer print!
Thank you! Can’t wait to cut into it
I’ve just given you a super sweet blogger award. Obviously don’t feel obliged to do anything with it, but I just wanted to carry on spreading the love! x
How SWEET! Thanks very much Lara 🙂
Dude, right on there brotehr.
Great video! Even when I cant understand everything what you say. Anyway, its nice to hear there is other aspergers who can enjoy their lives middle of neurotypical people and who also like to be different.
Beautiful dress, even more so in real life! Was fab to meet you on Sat. If you want help organising an ‘Up North’ meet up like we briefly discussed on Sat, let me know! 😀
Ooh yes I’ll be mulling it over some more as there as got to be a way to make it successful. Lovely meeting you!
Your dress is gorgeous!! Your work mates clearly wouldn’t know a nice dress if it leapt up and bit them! I’m offended for you! 😉 Also, I love your new fabric. Any plans for it yet?
Thank you! I also loved your new S2444. Such cute fabric! Ooh yes the golfers are going to be a Sassy Librarian Blouse!
Hey Amy!
So nice to meet you on saturday! it was such a lovely day and so nice to meet so many fellow sewers!!
your dress has inspired me too..! Luckily, I have local textile express (lucky, I know) so i’ll be going in there on my next trip to town!
Looks like we both picked up the lovely golfer’s lawn fabric too. i bought just enough to make my man a tie..just a bit of fun:)
I am contemplating the London meet up too..so i might see you then:)
Ex
Was lovely meeting you too! You’re very lucky to be so close to textile express, though it’s probably quite a temptation.
We clearly both have excellent fabric taste. A tie sounds fab! I’m going all out crazy with a blouse.
Fingers crossed we can chat some more in London 🙂 x
What great fabric! I love the airplanes and love what you turned that piece of fabric in to. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the golf print! ~Laurie
Snygg bild pÃ¥ chtrkfluiierna!! Jag gick i samma spÃ¥r…..Här stÃ¥r det som spö i backen sÃ¥ lite värme och hetta skulle inte skada =)Ha en bra dag.
Yay nice plane print! Yes it takes a sewist to see the details 😉
I absolutely love your dress! Doesn’t the print make you want to throw your arms out to the sides and zoom around like an airplane? I made a top from the same fabric, and that is definitely my instinct. (incidentally, I’m posting said top on my blog later today, so pop over to see it if you’re interested).
Hi Amy, it was lovely to meet you again in Birmingham – glad you liked the cookies!
(Let me know if you ever want the recipe.)
Claire 🙂
So good to see Simplicity 2444 and with planes! I have just started my adventure with it, and have to say love it too! Yours looks fab but also in some ways good that it can pass under the radar (haha) so to speak as you’ll get a lot of wear out of it in everyday situations. And of course sewists would comment! That is obvious 🙂
What beautifull dress!