Review of simplicity pattern 1080a: vintage style dress and tunic by Dottie Angel

I finally got around to starting this gorgeous vintage style dress by Dottie Angel. It had taken me a while to find the right fabric for it. I wanted 3 vintage style mini floral design cottons in coordinating colours. Finally I found these fabrics from Minerva crafts. They had been sat under my bed waiting for over a year so thought it was time to get started at last.

I chose the size S based on my measurements (although my waist was nearer to the M size, but I reckoned this wouldn't matter, seeing as it fits underneath the bust and not at the waist).

Stupidly I had not bought enough of the cotton for the top part (as I hadn't taken into account that the fabric was quite narrow and hence I needed more fabric) but thankfully the fabric was still in stock, though I had to wait until it arrived. Once I started pattern I get very impatient and want it finished immediately!

The pattern was quite easy to follow and although quite simple, there was quite a lot involved in making the pockets! They are well worth the work though as I love the little pin tucks in them and the bias binding around them and they are real feature of the dress. Although the pattern says to buy packs of bias binding, I wanted to match the binding on the pockets to the dress, so used a fabric from the bottom part to make the binding. There is also bias binding to be used around the neckline and sleeve holes, and so I again made bias binding from the fabric at the top to match it, in case it was going to show (I didn't read through to the end to work out that it would have been hidden anyway, but never mind).

Here I got extremely angry with my bias binding maker which I had previously bought and failed to work out how to use. Determined to get it right this time, I looked up YouTube videos and was very frustrated to find that they made it look so damn simple and easy, yet mine did not work at all. I tried time and time again to get the same effect but I wished I hadn't bothered as it took up so much time that I could have made the bias binding in that time instead! I ended up shouting at it and storming off, calming down and coming back and making bias binding the old-fashioned way, which I found much easier! I don't think I will be stocking these in my shop! Grr.

Anyway, things went quite smoothly after that and cotton is really easy to work with, so it came together quite quickly. I found that it really fit well, apart from just above the bust and around the sleeves: it seemed to gape a little showing my bra; and from the front it stuck out a bit. I therefore had to extend the seams up the sides slightly, underneath the armpit which sorted this issue out.

I'm really pleased with it overall, and it's perfect for layering up for the colder seasons and wearing by itself when we eventually get some nice warm weather here!