Pattern: Sew Over It – Ultimate Shift Dress 

Fabric: Lightweight Rayon Challis – Bold Flowers & Stripes from 1^st for Fabric

I ordered 2.5 metres of this beautiful lightweight rayon challis from 1^st for Fabrics because I absolutely love both stripes and florals at the moment and this fabric combined the two perfectly.  The fabric arrived beautifully wrapped with a note from Julie which added a lovely personal touch.

At the time of ordering I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to make from the fabric but I knew I wanted to make a dress from it and that 2.5 metres should easily cover that.

I deliberated for a while over whether to go for the Ultimate Shift Dress or something a bit fuller like the Eden Dress pattern, recently free with Love Sewing magazine, eventually I went with the shift because I thought the simple nature of the pattern would show off the fabric the best.

I have made the Ultimate Shift Dress pattern quite a few times now in long sleeve, short sleeve top and dress form and I absolutely love it, it’s such a simple and quick pattern to make up and looks completely different depending on the type of fabric you use.

As always, I pre-washed my fabric and pressed before sewing.  Cutting out, the rayon was pretty slippery so I used both pattern weights and pins to keep it still and took my time to make sure that the fabric didn’t move around too much while cutting.  When I say pattern weights I mean my phone, stapler and anything else I had to hand!! The fabric did crease a little while working with it but pressed out beautifully.

Button & loop closure

The dress has two bust darts, a centre back seam and a keyhole opening at the back of the neck which you can either close with a hook and eye or a button and loop.  I went for a button and loop closure simply because I hate sewing on hook and eyes!! I also like the finish of the button and loop and the fact that you can add a pretty button as a finishing touch.

When making the sleeveless dress and top the pattern is finished with a neck and armhole facing.  The frill sleeves are lined, overlocked at the top, gathered and simply top stitched into the armhole.  I love the frill sleeves, they are so pretty and add a little extra to an otherwise plain dress. 

Sewing in the neck & armhole facing

Frill sleeves

I had to hack quite a lot off of the length of the dress and also went with a larger hem because I’m quite petite and the dress was very long on me without any alteration.  The perils of being short…!!

Hem length

I’m so pleased with how this dress turned out, I wore it on a recent trip to Hampton Court on one of the hottest days of the year and it was super comfy and cool.  I’m already planning a second version in a simple denim chambray – I just need to find the time and the perfect fabric to make it with!

As with all Sew Over It patterns I’ve made so far the instructions are very clear and easy to follow, I would totally recommend this pattern to someone starting out in dressmaking and for a more experienced sewer you can make this dress up in a couple of hours – perfect!

I hope I’ve inspired you to give this pattern a go if you haven’t already!

Sally xx

If you’re a sewer you’ll know that there have been dozens and dozens of these tops all over sewing social media in all the beautiful fabrics so after lusting over about 600 of them on Instagram I decided it was time I gave this pattern a try. 

True Bias Ogden Cami

I downloaded the PDF file direct from the True Bias website for $10.00, it winged it’s way into my Inbox and I printed it straight out.  Given that there are only five pattern pieces in total to print, this pattern was very quick to put together using the cut and stick method and very quick to cut from the fabric too as the pattern shapes are nice and simple.

Yellow Bird Print Polyester

I had in my stash a beautiful yellow bird print polyester fabric which I knew would be perfect for this top so for my first attempt I used that.  I love the finished result of this top, it hangs beautifully on but I do think, on me, both front and back are a little low cut for my modest liking so for my second attempt I rounded out the necklines on both to give a little more coverage (more on that later).

In terms of construction, the top itself comes together so quickly and I actually think turning the spaghetti straps through was the longest part about the construction of my first go, for some reason I just could not get them to turn through with my Prym turning tool thingy. I gave in in the end and used a safety pin which worked much better. 

What I also love about this top is the lining, it’s kind of half lined which I think gives a lovely finish inside.  The pattern calls for you to double hem the lining to finish but I overlocked the edge and turned up a narrow hem instead which I think works just fine.

Overlocked lining

Second time around I used this beautiful navy floral print fabric from John Lewis, I think it’s a polyester and, as I mentioned earlier, I rounded out both front and back pattern pieces by measuring where the neckline of one of my other more modest cami tops sits and, using a dish (no fancy tools here!) to give me the shape I needed I drew the curve onto a piece of pattern paper and added it to the pattern to raise it up to the height I wanted.  As you can see from the pictures below I’ve unfortunately lost the lovely V shaped neckline that I really like about the pattern by doing this but I’m much more happy with the result on my shape and I know I’ll feel more comfortable wearing this altered version.

True Bias Ogden Cami

True Bias Ogden Cami

True Bias Ogden Cami

All in all I absolutely love this pattern, it took me around an hour and a half to make from cut to finish and now I’ve perfected the neckline on me I know I’ll be making a wardrobe full of them for the summer months ahead.

Have you tried this pattern, how did you find it?

Sally x