I couldn’t resist a remake of my Fiona Sundress by Closet Case Patterns for Christmas Day this year. Linen button through dresses are so current right now and this dress ticks all the boxes for a very fashionable make. The Fabric Store absolutely spoils us for choice when it comes to linen. I chose the mid weight Vintage Brick Red from their on line store but could make this dress again and again in every colour of the rainbow. Finished of with faux tortoises shell buttons from Spotlight Stores, I love the look and fit of this dress.
There is so much to think about when selecting your attire for Christmas lunch. You want a dress that is flattering to your body type but also allows room to fill your belly with all that yummy Christmas food. This dress was the perfect selection for me. Having spent time refining the fit on my first make, this dress has just the right amount of room to be comfortable even after an over indulging lunch.
This is one of those makes that I strongly advise making a toile and spend the time to get the fit right. If you do this you will have a pattern for life. For those of you that missed my first blog post on the Fiona Sundress I had to take the waist in quite a bit, add to the bust through the front bodice panel lines and add into the hip. I added two darts into the back skirt and two small darts into the front skirt that are hidden by the pockets. This enable me to achieve the shaping I needed into the waist.
My sewing tip for this dress is to use your sewing machine to sew all the buttons on. You will save so much time. You can sew buttons on using you machine by removing the foot, changing to zig zag and reduce the stitch length to zero. Hand wind your machine for the first two stitches to ensure you have your stitch width correct and then use the pedal. I do six zig zag stitches per button, pull one front thread through to the back of the button, tie off with the two back threads and cut the threads. It’s sew easy. Just make sure your fingers are out of the way!
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