After a bit of early New Year wardrobe lethargy, I decided to go to the shops - not to buy, but to try on for sewing inspiration. We have an &otherstories and Cos in Leeds now (my fave high street shops from my long gone days of shopping) so I went for a snoop. Deciding not to be limited by styles, I tried on anything that I liked the look of, which meant giving some new-to-me styles a go. And that's when I totally fell in love with the most perfect not-usually-me oversized shirt dress.
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Handmade shirt dress - the Ralph Pink Sahara Shirt |
Although I never intended to buy anything - inspiration trip only - I might have 'accidentally' bought the 'perfect' shirt dress from &OtherStories (pictured below), if only it hadn't been £85 (!!!). I'm neither a usual shirt-wearer or shirt-maker, and it's a bit silly but button holes still strike fear into my heart. But you do unexpected things when in love (with a shirt dress) so I made it my mission to make my own...
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The (expensive) inspiration! |
First step was finding the PERFECT pattern. After racking my brains a bit, I resorted to an Instagram cry for help, and was met with masses of wonderful comments and suggestions (so many suggestions in fact, that I had to make a
Pinterest board to contain them)! Among the possible pattern matches were the Named Helmi, Deer & Doe Meliot - both of which have the perfect neckline - and a couple of sack dresses with the perfect sleeve, but none of them quite 'the one'. It was
Hayley and
Megan whose suggestions of the
Ralph Pink Sahara Shirt made my heart sing. Apart from the collar, it looked spot on from the line drawing, and I thought it would be interesting to try a new-to-me pattern company, so I bought the PDF.
The PDF pattern has a border but no line to define it, so it was a bit tricky to trim to size, but once it was prepped, I was off! I used a plain black crepe with a good drape, similar to the shop bought version. The pattern only gives the yardage needed for the largest size (2.35m for size L) so I took a punt and bought 2.2m for the size Medium - perfect, with just a little breathing room. I skipped the faux pocket and collar pieces from my pattern cutting (though as a heads up, they would've fitted within the 2.2m) to get it as close to the inspiration garment as possible.
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Getting to grips with my first overlocker! |
Having
never made a shirt before, I was a little tentative, but needn't have been. The instructions and illustrations are good and really easy to follow. Topstitching the very long plackets in place gave me the sweats just a little, but it was all suprisingly straightforward make. I also took the plunge and used my brand new overlocker for the
first time, so it was a little bit of a learning curve in that sense - managing to re-thread it was a triumph in itself! I was quite thankful to have it as there are lots of veryyyy long seams to finish.
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The finished dress! |
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Lovely draping from the side |
In an attempt to copy the shop version's neckline, I sewed the 2 collar stand pieces together in the same manner as making the collar (without the actual collar pieces sandwiched in the middle). I attached the collar stand as instructed, and voila! The perfect neckline (phew)!
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Detail and a pretty professional finish :) |
And now for the much disliked task of adding button holes. The pattern says 11 buttons are needed, (though one of these is for the faux pocket which I skipped). I'm not sure if this is an 'unfortunately' or not, but there are no pattern markings given for the buttons on the pattern pieces. I ended up using 10 buttons on the placket, each spaced 7cm apart. I found that I needed a smaller button for the collar stand, but luckily I had a very little one in my stash. Of course, my first 3 were a near disaster - even after 3 successful practices on a replica placket,
typical - but I soon got into the swing of it, and they look pretty good! As a possible word of warning, I found that the button placket came up a little long, but this was really easy to trim just before hemming.
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11 button holes down and still standing! |
The pattern recommends a rolled hem finish for the curved bottom. Now I've never done one before, but my overlocker's instructions said it could do them, so I gave it a go. I'm not exactly sure if it looks how a rolled hem should, but it does the job, and it was FAST. My first finished make of the year, and quite an exciting one, which has got me all the more inspired!
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Back view |
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...and with a bit of a breeze! |
I love love love the finished garment, and just a week from shop-try-on to wearing my own version isn't half bad - only a quick distraction from my
#2017makenine plans! The shape is
exactly what I wanted, and I'd say the addition of the curved yoke even makes it that little bit better than the &OtherStories version. I can definitely recommend the pattern and will be making it up again with the same tweaks - in fact I've already got some textured black drapey fabric for version two! Who'd have thought I'd ever feel so stylish/cool in a sack dress?! It's a style I'm keen to explore further, so if you have any tips for fab oversized shirt/dress patterns please let me know in a comment below :)
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Dangerously flag-like on a windy day... thanks Sara for the photos! |
This is just so great!! I love it. (And I laughed so hard at your "dangerously flag-like" caption: so true, and yet it looks so cool!) How wonderful that you were able to get fairly instant gratification for your inspiration, and to get so close to it too! I will definitely be buying this pattern and making it for Spring. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! And haha, it's much windier here today, so good job I gave it a rest for the day. Totally recommend the pattern - I'm hoping to make a shorter, shirt-length version for Spring. Can't wait to see yours :) x
DeleteI think this is simply stunning! Maybe I should take your lesson and try on some not-usually me things, too. I always worry that on oversized shirt would overwhelm me but I do really love the look of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jess! It felt really weird picking stuff to try that I'd normally avoid, but so glad I did now. I thought it would make me look gigantic, but it really works when balanced out with the right shoes! x
DeleteI love this!!! Id look like a bag lady in this but you look fabulous!!
ReplyDeleteFrankie
Www.knitwits-owls.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you! And you most definitely would never look like a bag lady in anything you wore :)
DeleteFabulous- I love it! You might like some of the Style Arc patterns for oversized/funky looks. Adeline and Mila dresses for cocoon options, Blaire shirt/shirtdress for another oversized shirt option.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meg! I really like the Blaire shirt and had been considering it for this project, but the line drawing of the Sahara just pipped it! I've never sewn a Style Arc pattern before so I'll definitely check out the ones you've suggested :)
DeleteIt looks great. You've make the perfect RTW copy.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sonja! :)
DeleteOh, I like that! I'm not normally a shirt wearer myself either, but I could be tempted by this.
ReplyDeleteYeah I would definitely recommend it! I couldn't see myself in a traditional fitted shirt, but this just seems to work, and it's great fun to wear :)
Deletefabulous.....the only thing now is I want to make one so current sewing plans may be out the window......
ReplyDeleteAh thank you. Haha, all my other sewing plans went out of the window for this too. Just a week of obsessing over it though and now I'll hopefully get back on track...
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ReplyDeleteHi Shauni, I love this shirt dress! In fact I was thinking of making one for the summer. Great choice of fabric too! I made the shirt dress by Merchant and Mills last year but this one is sooo different. I just finished the Coco trousers by Ralph Pink and will soon share it on my blog. I love his collection.
ReplyDeletehttps://sewinprogress.com/
Thank you Medi! I'd definitely recommend it in anything drapey. I will check out the Merchant and Mills shirt dress too - thanks for the tip! Look forward to seeing your Coco trousers :) x
DeleteSo fun! I love how it turned out.
ReplyDeleteThe Artyologist
Thank you Nicole! Me too :)
DeleteAh well done, you've done a brilliant job of recreating the shop bought shirt! And the oversized shape really suits you, you look fab! x
ReplyDeleteThank so much Jane! I'm really glad a decided to try a new style - really love it, and so comfy too :) x
DeleteWowsers! You did a brilliant job recreating the inspiration shirt. It looks fab.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynne! Really loving wearing it :) x
DeleteI love your dress! It turned out so well. Just like the inspiration, and even better!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anya! I love wearing it so much - already got versions 2 and 3 planned out! x
DeleteThis is great - you've done a lovely job, and chosen the perfect fabric for it. I've seen a couple of other versions in cottons and they were just not drapey enough - yours is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The pattern companies often seem to make these sort of shirts up in cottons, and whilst it can look cool, it just wouldn't sit well on me at all. I'm have a similar Vogue pattern that recommends cotton, but I'm going to try it in a crepe. Fingers crossed for the same effect! x
DeleteThis is SO cool. I love that first photo, such a great silhouette!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jo! It's so fun to wear and a really different silhouette for me :) x
DeleteIt looks fabulous and to think it was the first time to use your overlocker, too! Well done. I fancy this shape, but am not sure if the sleeves shape get in the way or are they comfortable? I usually dislike dolman sleeve shapes but it looks so great. I'm going to check out Ralph Pink patterns now.
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