Floral Simplicity 2444

I am sure that you, like me have seen a lot of this pattern from the Project Runway line floating around the internet (just check out these gorgeous versions by Cynthia and Dibs as well as Roisin's many beautiful versions!) plus I saw at least a couple in the flesh at Rachel's infamous meet up in April. Receiving a free copy of this pattern with Sew Magazine was the final straw in getting me to try this one out!

The fabric I chose has been in my stash for a while as it was one of the first fabrics I ever bought, from the world renowned 'man outside Sainsburys' in Walthamstow Market! As with most of my purchases in Walthamstow I'm not 100% sure of the fibre content but I think it's a cotton/viscose twill that's got a lovely drape but proved a bit of a pain to sew! The drape of the fabric meant it was hard to stop it from going squiffy when sewing, I found it even more difficult than some crepe de chine I've sewn with in the past! I resorted to lots of pins and taking it nice and slow.

As for Simplicity 2444 itself I can see why this pattern has proved such a hit with seamstresses everywhere, not only because of the endless variations provided with this line of patterns (I love the little croquis kit so you can play around with which combinations of features you like before cutting). It's a timeless design and I love the whole simple, classic and comfortable style of this pattern. It's the perfect basic dress for me with a lot of features that are just to my taste; the cap sleeves, flattering fitted bodice with unique darts, perfect height neckline and a bit of fullness to the skirt. I'd like to try making this up again in a fabric with a slightly crisper hand to give the skirt more body and perhaps with a less busy print to show of those lovely angled darts on the front bodice. I definitely want to make up a few more variations of this dress, bearing in mind my post Me-Made-May aim of making more wearable clothing that's not to be worn with jeans!

However, one thing to bear in mind is the sizing. This was believe it or not my first time sewing with a pattern from one of 'the big four', with the exception of vintage (I guess I'm just an indie pattern designer girl at heart!) and I was surprised at how big the sizes run. Looking at the back of the pattern envelope I fit in pretty much exactly to the size 12 on the size guide, but when looking down to the finished measurements section they were about 3" bigger than my size! The fact that the version of the pattern I had received with Sew only started at a 12 and that I'd prefer it to end up too big than too small I decided to just go with it! It ended up big but salvageable; I'd definitely downsize to a 10 (or even possibly an 8 looking at the size guide) when working with Simplicity patterns in future. I tried it on before inserting the zip and ended up using over an inch and a half seam allowance each side to put it in! This rather sketchy method of alteration worked out fine though, and although I did loose some of the two innermost pleats into the centre back seam I'm happy with how it looks.

The knife pleats were new to me but, although a little fiddly and time consuming with all the marking pressing and basting, easy enough. Rather than facings as suggested I decided to line the bodice in the style of the Elisalex, attaching it around the neckline and then slipstitching it to the dress along the zip and armholes. I love how neat the zip looks sandwiched between the layers. Attaching at the armholes proved a little problematic as the troublesome floral stretched out where the poplin lining did not so the two were not a neat fit together. To solve this I simply hemmed the armholes in the lining and then caught them to the dress fabric top and bottom which works out fine.

The invisible zip went in smoothly this time, it just needed a hook and eye to finish off the top end. To keep the neckline neat and flat I used the black version of the wonderful stick on stay tape I got in Pacific Trimmings, under-stitched the lining to the seam allowance and clipped it all the way round. I love putting the effort in to all these little tricks and details as I feel like I've got a much more special and hardwearing garment when I'm done.

I can't remember exactly how much I paid for the fabric as I got it so long ago but I think some kind of deal was struck for £5 for 2 metres. The purple poplin lining was part of a fabric bundle a friend of my mum's kindly passed on to me and the zip cost around £2 from my local market. So considering the pattern was a freebie this dress was an absolute bargain at around £7 total! Much cheaper than any shop bought dresses in my wardrobe, sewn to at least the same standard and expected to hold out longer than most! Sewing is AWESOME!

O yeah, and there's pockets! Could this pattern get any better?!

Overall this pattern get's a big thumbs up from me and I love my new dress! I can see me getting a lot of wear out of it all year round. Have you tried this or any other patterns from the Project Runway line yet?

Another one that's good for twirling too!