I made this dress many months ago and finally remembered to have some pictures taken so I can show you all. It’s had a lot of wear! I originally made it to wear to the inaugural Dressmakers’ Do which was a fabulous night. I’ve also worn it out to a few dinners and an engagement party. It’s always good when something you make so quickly becomes a favourite.

 

The dress is based on this picture I came across on Pinterest one night (above) of a colour blocked mini dress. Having worked a little bit with my custom block, it looked like a simple enough shape to test it out. I lowered the waist line and also changed the angle on the pockets slightly, but otherwise it’s much the same. It isn’t particularly fitted, which means it’s very comfortable to wear. I wore it to a smorgasbord type dinner which turned out to be a smart choice.

I seem to be sewing with a lot of navy blue lately. The last make I posted was my Vogue 9075 Culottes Jumpsuit which is also navy blue. I’ve always had an aversion to navy blue as it was the colour of the uniform at my first job, but I seem to be finally getting over it! About time!

The Dressmakers’ Do was in winter and this dress kept me nice and warm. It has all the winter essentials…pockets to keep those fingers warm, full lining and the main fabric is upholstery fabric that must be 100% plastic so it keeps the heat in! The dress is referred to in my house as ‘The Couch Dress’ because the fabric was given to me by a friend who used it to reupholster her couch. Close up it has a lovely flocked checkerboard pattern to it which is really nice. The grey fabric is a gorgeous piece of wool/silk/cashmere suiting from The Cloth Shop. It is so soft and beautiful!

The suiting fabric is fairly light weight, so I can’t really store much in the pockets except my chilly fingers, but that’s ok. The skirt creases a little as you can see in the photos, but the navy blue fabric wears so well! I suppose that’s the bonus of using man-made fibres…it’s pretty much ‘wipe-down’able too which is great for a cheap drunk like me! I was worried the upholstery fabric would fray so I’ve left the seam allowances a little wider than usual, but it was a dream to work with. It eased perfectly for the sleeves. It seemed to just squish up without a pucker to tuck in sight! Hooray!

The Couch Dress is hanging out in my wardrobe for the hot summer, but it’ll be back on rotation as soon as the weather cools down. Have you ever made a dress from upholstery fabric?