(Thanks, Calvin, for the photos!)
Sewing for Mama is an entirely different matter than all those adorable dresses, pants and skirts that - no matter the shape of the garment - look adorable on the little bodies of children. But still, I stay determined to keep giving sewing for myself a go, even if I hit a few fails along the way. I'm not calling this one a fail, exactly. Not really at all. Though the very first I tried it on and looked in the mirror, I thought, huh....I just made a hospital johnny! Then I walked out of the room and Annabel excitedly asked if I was going to play Annie with her. As in orphan Annie, from the original movie, wearing, um, rags. So yeah...not a great start in reception to this dress I was so excited to have made. But then....I kept it on. And, oh, it just might be the most comfortable thing ever!
It's The Dress Shirt by Merchant & Mills (with a Robert Kaufman chambray, purchased from Z Fabrics). "The dress shirt is relaxed, loose, and absurdly comfortable. Its signature silhouette is inspired by a classic gentleman's shirt." says the pattern envelope. I made only slight tweaks to the pattern - french seams and a blind hem because I love them, and I lengthened the sides of the hem to make it more dress-like and less shirt-like (I'm not sure about that decision and might go back and redo the hem, actually). I was extremely pleased with the pattern - the instructions were just right and it all came together smoothly. I do regret not adding pockets. Next time - and I do think there will be a next time - pockets, for sure (and then it would be the perfect garden dress!).
I thought about adding some shirring to the back, to pull it in just a bit around the waist, or maybe a belt, or a button band or something to avoid the shapelessness of it, but then again, that's the point of this dress. And truth be told, after wearing it for just a little while, I'm perfectly pleased with it as is for the moment. "Absurdly comfortable." Yes, that exactly.
