I’m planning ahead for my summer holiday and have really enjoyed thinking about the sunshine whilst making this dress, especially as the weather has been so awful outside. This is my first time sewing with Modal Challis as a basecloth, and I have to say I really do like it. It looks very similar to Viscose Challis and is buttery soft to wear. I found it great to sew with; it really holds a press nicely and has a beautiful drape. As it’s made from lyocell fibres from beech trees, it’s very breathable and so is going to be great for keeping me cool, which is important because heat plays havoc with my MS symptoms.
The gorgeous Soaring Swans print is so rich in its pigmentation and looks just the way I hoped it would made into a shirt dress. This beautiful print is from Minerva’s Exclusive print-on-demand range, and I was very kindly gifted it as part of their Ambassador programme.
You may remember that I asked ChatGPT to show me the fabric and the pattern paired together. I’ll do another post so you can see what a good job it did showing an image of what it thought I would look like wearing it.
I’ve made Simplicity 8014 before, and it’s a really fabulous pattern. This time I used French seams throughout and again cut an extra yoke (attached using the burrito method) so that the inside stayed nice and neat. I get a real sense of satisfaction knowing the inside looks as nice as the outside (even if it’s only me that ever gets to see it). I left off the chest and waist pockets as I felt I wouldn’t use them. The pattern comes with a belt, but you do have the option of also wearing it loose if you choose.
I very nearly chose to top-stitch my dress with brown thread to match the lovely buttons that I had, but after a discussion with hubby, we decided that the fabric had enough going on and the coloured thread would either get lost or distract from the print, so I just went with black to not stand out. I chose the brown buttons to match the colour of the beaks of the swans.
There are an awful lot of buttons on this dress, but I have found that if the top one is open, I can slip it over my head, which is a real bonus as I do struggle with them due to my numb fingers.
I’m really happy with this make and know it’s not going to be the last time I use this pattern.
Wheelchair Considerations
1)You can button the neck on this dress to whatever height you are comfortable with to make it suitable for being viewed from above.
2). The number of buttons is significant, but I found I could side it over my head with the top button undone. You obviously could use alternative fasteners that are more disability-friendly if you want to.
3) There are different options for skirt lengths. View D, which I opted for, is really great for a chair as it means no fabric will get caught in the wheels.
Image description: There are six images taken from different angles showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing a black shirt dress with white swans printed on the fabric. There is a final image showing the dress interior.
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