A very pleasant surprise

The Named Inari dress is a pattern I've liked for a looooong time and often thought about buying, even gone as far as putting it in my "shopping cart". I could never however, quite made the final step to purchase. My reservation was around what it would look like on someone who had biggish boobies (DD) and i'd read reviews that commented on issues with the armscyses drafting. I did what normal curvy sewers do and asked the community for their opinions, and got some fab suggestions. 
I am a lazy sewer and can never really be bothered making many pattern alterations, so the idea to take the Concord Tee and turn it into a Inari look alike seemed like the perfect solution! Ta da, this was the result!

AND it was easy!! I used this Concord T-shirt dress hack tutorial from Cashmerette, but because I wanted to "cocoon" the silhouette, I gently curved out the sides so that my pattern pieces looked like this:

Front piece

Back piece

I generally make a 12/14D in Cashmerette patterns; for this I sized up to a 16 D as I wanted to have a fair bit of ease. I did end up adding a bit too much length and chopped off a good 10 cms from the hem when it was made up; the down side of this is it doesn't "coccoon" as much as I had originally intended, but only I will know that. 

I likes the deep sleeve bands on the Inari, so simply cut the bands deeper (about 5cms)

I have nooooo idea what the fabric is, it was a remnant from The Fabric Store in Wellington (from memory $5 /$10?). It feels like quite a robust knit, has a bit of stretch and seems pretty breathable, a smidgen see through (if wearing black bra and undies!). 

This was the fabric....... the eagle eyed of you may spot the hole in the piece (left side, about 2/3rds up). My original plan was to applique something over it, however luckily I was able to cut it so it didn't matter. In terms of pattern placement, I could see huge potential for it to go very very wrong with the fabric design....... so spent a while playing around with different design options :)

The upshop is - I have a dress I love and is super comfy. My intention with this make was for a comfy dress I could throw on over togs (swimsuit) at the beach and I got that. What I also got (& didn't expect) was a dress that I've worn to work and out to dinner. 

What also surprised me was that I had thought a cocoon silhouette might not be the most flattering for me, however I was really happy with the fit, shape and how it looks. Its a win!

Flashback to the early 90's

I made a comfy comfy comfy dress...... it's the Grainline Alder Shirtdress

Its made from some stash fabric, some kind of cotton that is soft and incredibly drapey. It was also fairly shifty and stretchy when sewing (sad face)

It's comfy, cool on a hot day, however I do feel a bit like I've stepped back into the 90's (or late 80's; you know the pale blue chambray dresses with ruffles) when I wear it. 

This is a pattern I was initially a bit meh when I first saw it, however as I saw more and more versions it started to grow on me. What put me off for ages was that I found it really hard to find versions made by women who had a bigger bust or extra curves around the tummy and hips; in the end I figured why not start the trend and show what it looks like for a curvier figure!

 I made the size 14 and did a FBA (adding an inch). I also ended up taking it in about a inch at the side seams of the bodice as it was looking fairly frumpy before that. 

 The instructions, like all the Grainline patterns were great, I generally followed them. The only exception was I used bias binding for my hem; I figured with the curves of the hem it made sense.   I do love the hemline, the high-low makes it feel pretty swishy and girly

I'm not a big fan of sewing on buttons so added hot pink snaps instead, soooooooooo much easier, and I don't think it matters on a casual dress.

Those that know the pattern may be aware that it "should" have two pockets, after two attempts to get the pockets even with the shifty fabric, I gave up and went with one! The fabric stretched slightly below the remaining pocket which is a tad frustrating; i've steamed it a bit to try and encourage it to shrink back into shape with some success but its still visible. 

I do feel it should have side seam pockets, initially I thought the fabric was too light to cope with them , but now I think i'll go back and add some. A dress without pockets is annoying. 

 I was super stocked at how well the grey thread blended into the fabric.... until I had to unpick a number of seams.

While I like this dress and I like how it fits, it is however a whole new silhouette for me and I'm not yet 100% convinced that it's "me". I do see potential for getting a lot wear out of it when camping and for after school activities with the kids so time will tell if it becomes a wardrobe staple.