Tricky but worth the effort

I had been wanting to make the Whittaker for quite some time and after I was gifted the pattern for Christmas I decided this would be my final make of 2023. I really enjoyed the process and loved how neat the facings and top stitching came out. I was a little frustrated when I got to the side seams as the instruction to finish the edges of the button stand was not in the same place as all of the other instructions, it was added to the picture rather than the written list of steps and so I had not seen it. This meant I had to do a rather messy finish as it had already been sewn in. The pockets were a little taxing, I think the instructions could be clearer here but after some thought I figured it out. I left the sewing of the button holes until the dress was finished to be sure I had them where I wanted them. I only had 6 buttons so spaced them out a bit more than the pattern guide suggests and it worked fine. I am 5ft 5″ a UK size 12 and I made the size 12 in the short version of the pattern. It is intended to be quite an oversized garment but I think I may size down at the bust and hips if I make this again, just so it’s not quite so roomy. The shoulders were fine at this size though. Overall, I am very happy with the dress, I made it in a chunky corduroy with some Liberty for the lining and pocket bags. I only did one row of topstitching throughout due to it being fairly invisible in my fabric so 2 rows would have been pointless.