Reeta Shirt Dress by Named

Thursday, June 15, 2017

I snap-bought the Reeta Midi Shirt Dress pattern the minute that Named released their SS17 Playground collection, so it's safe to say I've been planning to sew this for a while. But it took the #sewtogetherforsummer shirt dress challenge to give me the encouragement I needed to get started (thanks Sarah, Suzy and Monika for the push)! Just inside the deadline, here's my finished Reeta:
Reeya Midi Shirt Dress - Named Clothing
I chose the fabric to make it up in pretty quickly too - this beautiful striped olive green poly-crepe from Minerva Crafts.  I was smug at finding the perfect fabric for only £4.99p/m... until I came to cutting it and realising that it was only 45" wide rather than 60"! This left me almost half a metre short and meant some very creative pattern placement, as well as the struggle to keep my stripes straight! By some miracle, I managed to squeeze the whole thing out of just 3m. Disclaimer: any pattern matching is completely accidental (though my contrast horizontal back yoke was totally intentional).
Minerva Crafts poly-crepe
Reeta was a fairly straightforward sew, arguably easier than the '3 scissor' difficulty level stated - I made it in just a day. I saved myself a few extra steps by skipping the pockets. As much as I like the style of them, the placement, combined with the style of the dress, just wouldn't do any favours for my bust. The only real difficulty I had was with attaching the collar, mainly due to the severe curve at the front - a couple of attempts sorted it though. I was also a little confused over how to hem the dress with the way the facing was attached at the bottom as earlier instructed, so I sort of freestyled it.


Interior waist detail
I was quite surprised that the pattern didn't include a drafted piece for the inside waist casing, though to be honest, my limited fabric wouldn't have stretched to that anyway. As recommended, I used length of ribbon in green to match the dress, which makes for a really nice finish - perhaps something to make an external feature of in future. I threaded my cord through the ribbon channel and finished it with two toggles (leftover from my hardware purchase for my Waver Jacket) for a sort of 'utility' look.

Waist detail

When trying it on, I noticed pulling between the button holes at the waist if the cord wasn't tied as well as toggled, so I've stitched the centre front closed. And moving onto the buttons... I had total shade amnesia over the exact green of the dress when I went button shopping and came home with these little brown-looking ones that although aren't the worst, also aren't the best match. (I also do this regularly with zips too - anyone else?)

Side view
In terms of fit, I made the size 42 and it's pretty much spot on! In future I would change the placement of the top button as it falls slightly too high on my bust. And something that a lot of people comment on with Named patterns is the length. The patterns are designed for an average height of 172cm which is almost 5ft 8". For reference, I'm 5ft 6" and had to take a good few inches off the length of the Reeta when it came to hemming - I should've known better having hacked a good 8" off many Kielos. I still think it might be slightly too long, so the question is, should I shorten it more?

Back view
I really like the finished dress, though I can't help but feel that there is a fine line between frumpy and cool, and it's very much sitting on it - dinner lady chic vibes in this fabric anyone? I love the detail of the dress, particularly the sleeves and the waist cord/casing and choosing such a good quality, drapey fabric gives it that extra special finish - I think it almost looks like it could be hanging in Whistles, though coming in at less than £20, it definitely doesn't have the price tag to match!


A few tweaks to future versions - length and taking the side vents slightly higher - will make hopefully increase my love for Reeta even more. I'm thinking a lighter weight cotton version to add to add to my holiday handmades in the very near future!

Looking thoughtful - thanks Sara for photo-taking!
Did you make a shirt dress for #sewtogetherforsummer? Leave a link to your blog in the comments if so - I'd love to see it! :)


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Shauni S

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11 comments

  1. Anonymous16 June 2017 at 01:46

    I love the finished dress (I knew I would when I saw your preview on IG!) and think you did a fantastic job on it. I cannot believe you got this out of 3m of 45" fabric--I got twitchy cutting my Reetas out of 3 yards of 55" fabric!

    I don't think it looks frumpy at all, but I totally understand what you mean: I sort of feel that way about mine as well, because the fit is so relaxed AND it's a midi. But your Reeta looks fabulous on you and you should definitely make another one! =)

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    1. Shauni S20 June 2017 at 13:43

      Thank you!! I can't quite believe I squeezed it out of the fabric either - risky cutting but big reward! I've got another one on the cards in lighter weight cotton for my holidays, so might try adding the pockets on this one :) xx

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  2. hilde16 June 2017 at 10:19

    Looking very good! I agree with you on the fine line of frumpiness, I have the same with my Reeta, which is in a floral so it has a bit of granny added as well... I think yours looks lovely as it is! I think it's a good dress that can be dressed up and down.

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    1. Shauni S20 June 2017 at 13:44

      Thank you Hilde! I'm glad you agree, and you're right, the length and style of the Reeta make it easy to wear for different occasions, dressed up or down :)

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  3. Fabric Tragic16 June 2017 at 13:34

    Beautifully made, would look great with some sandals too.

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    1. Shauni S20 June 2017 at 13:44

      Thank you! I'm wearing it with sandals today now the weather's warmer :)

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  4. Claudia16 June 2017 at 14:29

    You did a beautiful job with this, but since you asked, I'd shorten it a bit more for you. It's right on that line of frumpiness. You haven't crossed it, but a little shorter would give you more options when it came to footwear choices, which often push something over the line into frumpville. Cheers!

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    1. Shauni S20 June 2017 at 13:45

      Thanks for the honest opinion Claudia! Adjusting it will probably happen eventually, though it's in a big sewing queue while I urgently make holiday appropriate clothes! x

      Delete
  5. Zoe19 June 2017 at 07:00

    The olive striped fabric is perfect for this style of dress! Good call on the pockets, I think the design might have looked too cluttered with the stripes as well :)

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    1. Shauni S20 June 2017 at 13:46

      Thanks Zoe! I was really drawn to the fabric (shame I didn't quite buy enough, but I think it's fine without the pockets)! Maybe next time... :)

      Delete
  6. Unknown7 July 2017 at 05:52

    Thank you shares this article. I found this article more information of fabric. Fabric

    ReplyDelete

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