Green Tartan Shift Dress, Another Butterick 6258

Signing up last week for Me Made May '17 has given me a boost to try to make a few more things to wear before May. I have had this tartan jersey since the beginning of the year with the intention of making a shift dress but hadn't got round to it yet. I thought​ I had better make it before the weather gets too warm to wear such a dark colour.

I have returned to a pattern that I have used before here. It was my second ever post. I agonised over this dress for several weeks. I loved the fabric and I liked the dress on the hanger, but when I put it on I felt so frumpy! It felt like a Crimplene granny dress from the 1960s and not  my style at all. I had lots of reassuring comments but they didn't help. I still felt about 75 years old whenever​ I wore it. Anyway, I took my courage in both hands and cut another 2 inches off the bottom...  What a transformation! The dress no longer makes me feel old, it makes me feel young! I love,love,love it and am now enjoying wearing it all the time.

I even enjoyed posing in the garden to take these photos, but I thought you should see what a mother of three boys does more usually in the garden. It really is a very versatile dress!

So now I have made another dress for work from the same pattern. It was so easy to make. I cut it out one evening and sewed it up in just 2 hours. I would recommend this pattern for a stretch jersey with a little bit of body.

The tartan fabric is another jersey remnant from Leicester market and I think it is a bit reminiscent of Black watch tartan. It cost £1 per metre so it was also a bargain. It is really soft and warm on the inside and smooth and slightly shiny on the right side.

I took a lot of care to match the checks when I was cutting out which has paid off. I chose the narrow green line and pinned every third stripe carefully before pinning the pattern in place. I also cut the fabric right side out so that I could see the pattern, which is only printed on the right side. There is a really good tutorial on matching plaids on the Sewaholic blog which shows the technique I used. I find matching the sleeve head seams the most difficult, but I am quite pleased with these, even though they aren't quite right.

I used the overlock stitch on my machine for all of the seams. The hems on the bottom, neck and the sleeves were all taken up with the double needle to allow them to stretch.

It is lovely out in the garden today. The spring bulbs and blossom are in bloom and the grass is beginning to grow. I have a week off work for Easter and have lots of sewing projects lined up along with some gardening. I hope that the weather stays mild and you all have a good Easter break.