This year's dressmaking efforts - doubled!

I've actually finished something - yay! My cotton lawn Simplicity 4463 is complete. Unfortunately, after several days of sunshine today was very cloudy, so it was hard to get decent photos. The fabric isn't nearly as washed-out as it looks here.

Done!

I have made so many versions of this pattern and its reissue, Simplicity 1777, that there isn't much more to say. This one has a zip fasten rather than a placket, and the V-neck front. In the end, my version of the V-neck turned out so small that I would struggle to get the dress on over any sort of up-do, but at the same time I wouldn’t want to make the V any lower! Any future iteration might require a small back opening.

Because the fabric is so fine, I faced the front section with plain white lawn so that the pattern wouldn't show through. I interfaced the facing, and now wish that I hadn't - it makes the centre front section rather stiff, and prone to bulging out a bit.

The problem with the neckline

There is, as ever, a pocket. As with the previous version, I placed it slightly lower to avoid the hip curve. The front of the pocket bag was also made from plain lawn.

Pocketses (well, one pocket)

As well as being more accurate to the 1940s, the plainer skirt of 4463 feels easier to sit in than the heavily pleated version of 1777. It's also far easier to iron!

#sewnshownseated

And that’s it, apart from the update to the Stashometer. I can't believe that it's August and I've only just completed a second dress for the year.

Stash-neutral status is within reach!