Simplicity 1803

General Thoughts on the Dress

I should sew more dresses like this.  They highlight my small upper half and camouflage my generous lower half.  I get a lot of compliments, when I dress like this.  It's cool and comfortable to boot.  This pattern is great for a pear shaped gal, because the cut-out at the bust further emphasises the upper torso and creates strong horizontal lines at the shoulders.

More pictures in the shade in the mirror.

I tend not to do it though because I worry about looking too 1950s.  I don't have the big personality to pull off costume dressing.  But there are enough of these dresses around that I feel current and not too attention-seeking.  There aren't that many off these dresses though.  I think it is a difficult style to go out and buy in a store because there is too much fitting in the bodice and women's shapes just aren't that standard.  So this dress is my own bit of casual luxury.

Here's another one just like the other one.

I bought the fabric, which is a printed cotton pique, three years ago on Goldhawk Road.  No doubt it was a bargain.  I had it in mind for my children, then realised it wasn't really a juvenile print.  It was more like a wacky, old lady print.  I had no idea what to do with it, and considered thrifting it several times.  I am glad I didn't.  I think it suits the style and spirit of this dress perfectly.  It kind of reminds me of the fruit and vegetable prints that I see in high end designer fashions at the moment.  It's not veg, but it is sort of retro and cheeky in the same way.

Posing in this situation is pretty limited.

The Pattern and the Sewing


I sewed a 14 on top and a 20 on bottom!  I wish I had sewn a 12 on top.  I recently sewed a Simplicity Amazing Fit shirt in a size 12 and it was a little small, so I opted for the 14.  I ended up having to take in the sides and bust seams quite a bit.  I also subtly changed the angle where the top front yoke meets the bodice, so that the cut-out didn't gape.  You can sew this up before adding the skirt and make quite a few tweaks to the bodice without it being too much of a chore because the facings don't get in the way and there are no facings on the arm holes, just bias binding.

I used a fairly heavy fabric with a lot of body.  I wouldn't recommend sewing this up with anything drape-y or too light weight.  I ended up using heavy fusible canvas to interface my facings.  This was overkill, but it actually worked out great.  The cut out holds it's shape beautifully and nothing is droopy or flat.

I added a waist stay, but it isn't really tight enough to make the skirt pop out.  I left too much ease in the bodice.  I didn't realise quite how much ease until I tried to tighten up the waist stay.  If I had tightened it too much, I would have had a wedge of fabric in the small of my back.  At this point, the skirt was attached, the zip was in beautifully, and I just couldn't be bothered to take it all out.

Here is a picture of the actual pattern, Simplicity 1803.