Simplicity 1800 – The Next Summer Dress

A couple of years ago when we were down visiting DH’s family in Adelaide his mum took me fabric shopping and we went to DK Fabrics. If there’s one selfish reason we should move to Adelaide it would be so that I can shop there more often, it’s what a fabric shop should be. 🙂

While we were there I bought a gorgeous piece of cotton/viscose in shades of white, coral pinks, pumpkin orange, cherry red and purple. It’s been sitting in my stash ever since we returned waiting for the right garment to present itself and I believe I’ve found it’s ideal match- Simplicity 1800, view B. I love the two-piece raglan sleeves (should be good for my wonky shoulders), the pleated front which hides some useful pockets and I adore the neckline.

Being one of the “Amazing Fit” patterns- I’ve cut a size 26DD. This will be the first commercial pattern I’ve used which has a FBA included as an option (rather than a DIY approach), so it will be interesting to see how well it fits. I’ve cut the toile out of calico and hope to be finished sewing it together by the end of today. There are less pieces to put together than the Francesca top I made a couple of weeks ago, so I don’t think it will take me more than the day *fingers crossed*.

BurdaStyle Francesca Variation

Tsk, tsk, absent blogger, naughty girl not posting for a year. Let’s just pretend I never left and get on to the good stuff.

I saw a post on The Sewing Forum featuring BurdaStyle’s Francesca Variation top and I fell in love with it straight away. It looks to be a great blend of the bohemian spirit and a little bit romantic and sweet which is very much to my taste in fashion. What’s more, it’s available in extended plus sizes- meaning it goes up to a size 60 (euro sizing), rather than stopping at 52/54 like most of their downloads.

Oh- before we go any further- the real push over the fence was that it’s a FREE download. Sure, I still had to print it out and tape it all up, and annoyingly, it’s only available as US letter paper size (hello??!? the rest of the world uses A4!)… but I loved the look of it so much that I did just that.

I spent the evening having a look online for some fabric to make it out of and found a few very nice cotton prints at Lincraft online that look to be about the right scale of print compared to the made up, modelled version on BurdaStyle. I plan on dragging DH out fabric shopping at our local store after I’ve done the toile. Below is my mood board for inspiration, it helps to keep me focussed.

Speaking of the extended sizing for this pattern- I am pleased to say I can fit in to it! Yay! Going by the completed garment measurements I’ve traced off a 54 bust tapering through to 60 hips. Even if it’s a little bit snug at the start of summer I should get a seasons wear out of it without needing to cut a size smaller.

I’ve sewn up the bodice to check for fit. I will need to take it in along back back centre seam from neck to shoulder blades (rounded back alteration) but other than that it fit’s ok. I still need to attach the waistband, skirt panels and sleeves but I am omitting the bust and skirt insets (contrast fabric) because they’re not needed in the fitting stage. I’ll post pics of the toile once it’s finished. 🙂