A shirt dress in hot pink? Now that’s different.

This Minerva exclusive print caught my eye. It’s a red, lilac and pink floral on a pink base.

I chose this twill base version. I like the idea of working with twill fabric from time to time.

Twill has drape and is hard wearing. Twill is my trouser go-to fabric choice.

So why use this on a military shirt dress pattern?

In the past shirt dress have been my work staple choice.

Right now, I don’t need to dress for the office so I still love a shirt dress but I love the idea of a shirt dress that is full of joy.

This is a floral print and it’s also contemporary. I love a print that shows the shape so clearly.

I don’t really do subtle anymore.

This pattern McCalls 8139, was one i received from SewDirect earlier this year. When I measured my waist, it’s bigger than size 14 but the rest of me was fine. How do you add an extra 10 cm to your pattern at the waist? Very carefully.

Actually, 10cm divided by 4 seam equals about 2.5cm. That measurement is just for the waistline.

Once I added this to the side seams I sewed up the skirt part of this pattern and then pinned it to me. The back skirt darts are a guestimate of the shaping I needed.

Now the bodice was another puzzle to work out. I roughly sewed up the bodice to see how it felt. I did raise the side bust and shortened it.

The short sleeves fit me as is so that was a relief.

Anyway, it all worked out in the end.

I have a sway back so having a dress that has lots of fitting lines makes it easy to get a good fit.

The skirt centre back seam towards the hem has been shaped so it doesn’t stick out too far.

The red buttons for this dress were in my stash. And that’s all I did to get this pattern to fit.

I love this fabric. The colours and fabric base makes it easy to wear. Oh and the print hides my terrible ironing skills.