Pattern Fantastique Celestial Dress

I loved this pattern from the first time I saw the promo picture with the broad stripes, but thought it wouldn’t get much wear, so I couldn’t justify the fabric cost as it needs over 3 metres. Then I saw this fabulous black and white fabric in Walthamstow Market for only £2.50 a metre and realised they’d work perfectly together.  Now I’ve made it I think I’ll wear it a lot if the weather stays warm - it’s very comfortable and easy to wear.

This was such fun to make!  The pattern is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever made: no fastenings, no gathering, no interfacing.  I thought fitting the skirt to the yoke and sleeves might be tricky but it fitted together beautifully, which was really satisfying.  I toiled the yoke and sleeves to check the fit across the shoulders but didn’t need to make any adjustments - given the A-line shape I wasn’t worried about the skirt, but if you have a full bust it might be worth toiling the top of the skirt as well.  I took some time deciding how to fit the print to the pattern but if I hadn’t done that it would have been super quick to make.

I laid the skirt across the width of the fabric to get the pattern the way I wanted it, and it worked fine.  I bought 4 metres to allow for playing around with the pattern matching.  This was a lucky decision as I cut the first skirt piece out with the pattern upside down so had to do it again.  Without this mistake I would have had plenty left over.  The pattern comes with three maxi, midi, and a top.  I’m 5 ft 4, and I think the maxi would have just grazed my ankle bone, so I lengthened it as I plan to wear it with wedges.   Other than that I made the size 12 with no alterations - usually in separates I’d go up one or two sizes on the bottom half.