Pinafore dress idea.

Pinafore Dress Idea.

I was browsing on ebay the other day and saw a 1940’s pinafore dress and felt that it held possibilities. I am always trying to think of ways to update my work wardrobe. I like to look neat, even though almost no one sees me except on my walk home in the morning. I need to have pockets to carry my work car keys and my work phone on me at all times. I need to be reasonably physically active, walking, lifting, carrying, getting in and out of cars and occasionally crawling around on the floor.

You would think that because of this I would avoid skirts like the plague, but no I don’t. I feel quite comfortable in them now and have realised that I can cope quite well. They just shouldn’t be too short or tight, given my body shape this is not a style I would normally choose.

So after going though my pattern stash and browsing many patterns online I decided to give it a go. I pulled out my Simplicity shirt dress pattern, which is my favourite redesign pattern. I then went through my stash and found a dark caramel polyester crepe. I folded it in a couple of different ways to see how to make it work, it was quite a small piece. I decided that I would put the zip in the side seam, keep the centre back seam but cut the front on the fold. I ended up cutting the neck facings from a pair of shorts I had started making from the same fabric but had destroyed before completion. I did not have a zip the right colour or length in my collection so the whole project got delayed for a week. I will do a lapped zipper in the side seam, finish the armholes with bias binding and am thinking of trying out the decorative stitches on my machine around the neckline.

Hopefully it will be done soon.

But I’ve forgotten the pockets! I didn’t have much of this remnant fabric left so decided that this would simply be a practice piece, a wearable muslin.

I have bought some black cotton drill to make the real dress, though if this works I’m thinking it would look fabulous in fine charcoal wool.