Pop Art Patti Dress

My blogging hasn't been happening much this year. I have quite a few things I've made over the last six months - some even photographed - that I haven't posted yet. So this dress is my first start in changing that around.

The skirt is the Patti Pocket Skirt from Amy Nicole Patterns. It has front and back pleats and large pockets - the white whale of dresses and skirts. These pockets are cut so that they're slightly wider than side skirt piece, making them pretty roomy and much more functional than pockets often are. I also like that the placement of the pockets is in the front rather than in the side seams as it makes them much more practical.

The fabric is a light cotton sateen from Pitt Trading with diagonal stretch and a good sheen. I love the print, it's a check but nothing like other checks. It's very pop art, or like almost cartoon-like with the roughly drawn think black lines and deep and vibrant greens and blues. It's lightweight but has just enough body to hold a bit of shape and keep the pleats sharp. I decided early on the skirt half I wanted for this fabric and had an image in my head for the bodice, so looked through my patterns to find what matched the picture in my head.

The bodice is from everyone's favourite pattern in 2010-11, Simplicity 2444, sadly now out of print. It has been a while since I made this pattern, so I'd forgotten that the sleeves have very little ease meaning I can't entirely raise my arms in this dress. I'm hoping that after a few washes the fabric will soften and I'll get a little more movement.

I've made both the skirt and pattern I used for the bodice before, so it was straightforward to combine the two. The only major change I made was moving the skirt zipper from the side to the back so that it matched the bodice. I don't think I added in quite as much extra fabric at the centre back for the zipper and seam as I as meant to, so the back pleats are a little close together and I had to be careful not to catch the pleat as I stitched the zipper. Other than that this was a quick and easy make.

I made this dress to be able to wear to work or casually, and to wear all year round - with tights in winter and bare-legged in summer. It's a versatile dress and I'm really happy with how it turned out.