The weather is heating up and I have finally been able to wear this dress which I made weeks and weeks ago in anticipation of summer.
The back is pretty simple – a couple of long darts, an invisible zip, and a centre vent.
It is McCall’s 8233 – a 1996 pattern that I found (when does a pattern become vintage as against simply old?), and I made version C. The only problem is that mine is a size 14 – 18 and I am a size 8, so this was my first attempt at serious pattern grading.
If I say so myself, I did ok. I probably need to rework the bust darts a bit. Everything fitted pretty well, I put it all together and then realised that I hadn’t graded the sarong part – duh! So, I took it apart and redid the front.
I bought the fabric at Potter’s and it languished in my stash for about a year before I decided that this would be the perfect dress. It is a crinkled cotton, or something, (no ironing – yay!) that is light and cool although slightly diaphanous.
By the way, this is one of the dresses that I have seen for sale in Country Road. Their version has an elasticised waist and the sarong part is caught up on the waist. I do like this version better!
Apologies for all the shadows – I have to take these photos before leaving for work so the sun is busy doing its thing!
The details
Fabric is a crinkled cotton from Potter’s
Pattern is McCall’s 8233
Shoes are Camper from Ricarda’s
Necklace is pearl and amethyst bought in Tanzania.