Self Drafted Pinafore dress

A few weeks ago, My lovely mother in law gave me her old dining room curtains. Now she tends to change her decor every few years and is very clean and tidy in general so her curtains are always imaculate!

Anyway my first thought was omg, what am I going to do with brown suede curtains?

So I perused the Topshop website for a few minutes and finally decided to use this as my inspiration. The original is made from cord but I thought my suede fabric would give it a nice 70's vibe which is really on trend at the moment. I don't usually follow trends but I'm a massive fan of the boho chic kinda vibe that hippy's have.

Now because I didn't have a pattern for a pinafore dress, I had to draft my own. Basically i took measurements from my waist, hips, where I wanted the pinafore to flare out to and the space between my nipple area [too much info I know but if you look at pinafores that's typically where the top of the bib is] Then I worked out where I'd need some ease and drafted that in and then added seam allowances.

I also drafted some pockets, they are lined with some floral fabric but you cant see it at all. 

Its just the right size to put a hand or a phone in. Or sweets. or chocolate.

The front pocket is much larger although you can't put anything too heavy in it otherwise it pulls the front of the dress down too much and makes the back floof up!

I top stitched the centre seam line and the side seams and the godet seams, yeah I added some godets after realising I wanted it a bit more flared. I used the same thread throughout, it looks kinda green on the reel but here it looks more of a nice gold colour. 

The hem and top of the dress are finished with white bias binding, I probably should have made some in brown but I couldn't really be bothered. It doesn't really bother me though because I've mainly been wearing it with white tops so it kind of blends in.  

The straps and the buttons are stitched down, I was going to do buttonholes but my machine was not a fan of doing buttonholes in this fabric I think because of the nap of the suede.

I have to keep checking the front of the dress hasn't slipped down otherwise the hem looks uneven like this. Which makes me really grouchy. Also the straps keep slipping down so i might have the tighten them at some point. 

I'd say I'm pretty pleased with it even though it does have its problems. I've kept my drafted pattern pieces so if I ever choose to make another I can make some changes and make it perfect. I think it looks cute and it's pretty similar to the one on the Topshop website apart from the fact it didn't cost me £40. I feel pretty cute and I really like the seventies vibe. In fact it makes me want to spread the love and dance in a floaty style!

And as far as drafting something for myself goes, its not perfect but it fits my body so I'm counting that as a win as well!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx