For my third #MinervaMake, I went for a classic floral number to see me through autumn and winter. I was gifted a few metres of this beautiful cotton poplin by Art Gallery fabrics and paired it with one of the newer Summer 2020 dress patterns by Simplicity — head over to Minerva to see my blog post!
This Art Gallery Cotton Poplin is smooth, soft and — like all good-quality cotton poplins — a total dream to sew with. This poplin isn’t particularly heavy, and it gathers well and looks crisp when all has been pressed. The pattern is on a dusky blue background and is a non-directional print… Non-directional prints are pretty much my favourite, purely because I am prone to putting pattern pieces on the wrong direction! The floral print reminds me of a beautiful meadow and the splashes of magenta and emerald green really brighten up the darker background. If you aren’t a total klutz like I am and not at constant risk of spilling tea all over yourself (ahem…), this same print is also available on a sweet cream background. It is only a 115cm wide, so make sure you pick a pattern that is designed for narrow fabric options.
Simplicity 9136 is one of the newer releases and it is pretty great! The bodice is fairly fitted, with a fuller gathered skirt with pockets and finished with an invisible zip. The raglan sleeves are either capped, short or elbow length; I went for the longest length to keep me warm. The skirt finishes a few inches below my knee, which is a lot longer than I usually wear. I also modified the neckline to be marginally lower and it is finished with self-made bias tape. This was my first time making bias tape and luckily I found it pretty easy with my bias tape maker. I like how simple this dress is — I usually go for various additional design elements, but I thought the poplin print is fantastic enough on its own. I also didn’t make any fitting adjustments, but could probably size down next time — there is quite a bit of ease factored into this pattern.
I am so pleased with my finished garment — it is the perfect ‘Lazy Sunday’ dress that you can just throw on and feel happy in. I can’t wait to sew up another version of S9136 — I think a contrast colour-blocked sleeve would be fun to try!
This is so pretty! Really lovely dress.
Thank you so much! I love swooshing around in it 🙂
[…] have been scattered in all directions! I am a little in love with the Art Gallery poplins (my other #MinervaMake from earlier in December was a floral poplin) as they are really good-quality: soft to the touch, […]