There is probably a dress pattern out there called the picnic dress, so I just want to be clear that my highly original name is just because of the gingham. I can’t help it, I’m obsessed. And it’s pink. What more do you want out of life? (Well you probably want lots of perfectly normal things, but I want pink gingham.)
This fabric started it’s life as a duvet cover that I found in the thrift store. It actually has a striped pattern on the other side, which you can see below. Because of that, and because I was fully lining the entire dress, I was really tempted to make the whole thing reversible. I couldn’t think of how to make that work with a button placket though, so I’ll have to save that idea for a different dress.
This is actually a heavier weight cotton, with a nice texture to it. It frayed like crazy when I was working with it! I decided to go all out with my seams, and enclosed everything. There isn’t a single raw edge or zigzag anywhere inside. I even used bias tape on the edged of the pockets!
(Was this necessary? Absolutely not. Having pretty seams inside of my dress just made me happy.)
Every once in a while I find myself in a place where repeating the same type of simple handicraft over and over again is the most relaxing thing in the world. During the pandemic it was knitting socks, and only socks. Right now it seems to be hand sewing. Is there any reason I couldn’t have made this with my sewing machine? Absolutely not. I sewed most of this while literally sitting across from it. Doing it by hand was just irrationally satisfying. (My button holes are getting better, don’t you think?)
I am working of drafting a basic bodice pattern for myself. Just a very simple one that fits the way that I like. This dress is my first wearable muslin made using that pattern. I will be tweaking it over the next few dresses until I am happy with it.
This version is pretty good for a first attempt. It gapes a bit at the neckline, as you can see below. I would have angled the button placket to try and fix it, but because I had chosen a fabric with such straight lines it would have ruined the effect. Other than that, I literally can’t think of a single thing that I don’t like about this dress or how it fits. Which is pretty good for a first try!
This dress really feels like it will wear well for years. Between the sturdier cotton fabric and my unnecessarily strong seams, I am hoping to have this one in my wardrobe for a very long time. The pink fabric is such a happy pattern, and the buttons are a lovely shade of green that the photos don’t do justice to.
Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have a picnic to get to!
What did you think of this one? Should I try a reversible dress sometime?
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