Pattern: Vogue 8028m view A
Fabric: 3 yards of stretch plaid shirting from fabric.com (still available)
It’s rare that I’m struck by the urge to make something twice – there are so many patterns in my queue, and so little time to make them! But after finishing my first shirtdress using this pattern, I still felt like making another. I bought this shirting because of the color (I do love green, and it’s more emerald than it looks on my monitor.) I had planned to make a tunic, but after I finished my shirtdress I knew that only a dress could do justice to the plaid! This sort of buffalo check plaid is in style right now. I like it – it’s less mottled than a more traditional plaid. The only negative is that matching thread is impossible. I left off most of the topstitching because there was just no way to get it looking good.
The cuffs were cut on the bias, and I used self fabric interfacing all over, so that I wouldn’t get white show through on the buttonholes. The dress could possibly be a bit smaller in the bodice, but I tend to err on the larger side in winter. It’s 2 inches longer than the cord dress – I plan to wear it sometimes without tights, and so I wanted it to be knee length. I had trouble with the collar – I forgot to enclose the self facing at first, and had to rip the stitching back. Then I couldn’t get it to stay in place for topstitching, but I finally solved that issue by using a gluestick to glue the collar down before stitching – I read that somewhere and it’s a great tip!
I love this dress – I’m definitely all about the shirtdress this winter. And I am very proud of my plaid matching – you can’t even tell that it buttons in the front in these photos!