Sewing Adventures – Outback Wife barkcloth dress

There had been a merino wool version that I was really wanting but it had already sold out. In the end I said the wonderful sales girl over the phone give me 2 metres of whatever you have left in pinks or purples. She asked if I wanted photos and I said no let’s just go for it.

When my parcel arrived I got this white with big pink flowers and a lovely lilac based floral too. They were perfect. Now I just had to figure out the perfect dress.

I knew I didn’t want to do gathers as the fabric is too stiff but big pleats were definitely a contender. After much deliberation I did something I tell people not to do. I pinned the Deer and Doe Myosotis pattern to my own bodice block pattern, then placed that on to the fabric. Using parts from one pattern and parts from the other I ended up with a round neck bodice with short sleeves.

For the skirt I wanted maximum amount of useage so I cut the length I wear across the width of the fabric twice. Then pleated them up to fit the bodice. I didn’t really even measure them just went in by eye and adjust as needed. The centre front is an inverted box pleat and then all the other pleats are just knife pleats. This allows for good amount of swish while still sitting relatively flat around the waist. With a fabric this stiff you were always going to get some bulk. Plus the skirt has pockets!

The bodice has underbust and side bust darts but no back darts (I find for myself I don’t need them enough to be bothered about them).

Despite my rather haphazard approach to the pattern it does work. The bodice fits with being too tight, there is room in the waist seam for it to move freely without pulling, the pleats mostly disguise my lopsided torso (the weight of the fabric helps with this too) and the little sleeves are cute.

Now for the parts that don’t work as well. The neckline is a fraction too wide and I do have to be careful about what bra I wear or you can see the straps. Ideally I’d like to block it in by about 1 to 1.5cm at the shoulder seam then sort out the neckline shape a little more.

The neckline ripples above the bust when I move about. Yes a certain amount of rippling occurs in order to be able to you know breathe and move but this is just a little over that. A small pinch dart on either side of the neckline would ensure it would sit that little bit flatter. Similarly with the back neck I could take a small amount out of the centre back where the invisible zip is.

They aren’t big changes but sometimes it irks me that I know exactly what needs to be done in order to get a really good fit. The other side to that is the whole thing took me about 2 hours to make and I’ve had a tonne of wear out of it. It hangs nicely and looks good so it is my go to dress for teaching in as I just don’t have to worry about it. I just get dressed and go. It’s comfortable as long as I remember not to wear it on really really hot days when I feel the heaviness of the fabric a bit. Plus I get a tonne of compliments while wearing it, which honestly it never gets old hearing someone say lovely things about a dress you’ve made.

The good outweighs the bad and I would always rather have something finished than a UFO that never got around to be finished for fear of it not being perfect.

Also it should be said that laying one pattern on top of another and borrowing from both is NOT an ideal way to do things, so if you are going to follow my lead expect there to be some issues and maybe try it on a fabric that isn’t precious first?

Pattern: blend of my bodice with Deer and Doe Myosotis with full width pleated for skirt

Fabric: Outback Wife barkcloth from a Melbourne store originally with a short stay in the stash

Alterations: sort out neckline/shoulder area to cover bra and not have neckline gale so much while moving