Paisley Printed Pinwhale Popover

I’ve enjoyed wearing this dress so much that I wanted one for winter. I had 2.1 metres of this great paisley printed pinwhale cord, so I decided to squeeze as much dress out of it as I could.

I cut the bodice then an eight gore skirt from the rest. Yes cord has a nap. I’ve gone with the trick of using one nap direction for the front and the other for the back of the dress. The little scraps from the neckline etc were used to make pockets. There are only tiny slivers of fabric left!

The bodice is lined with a gorgeous spotted rayon:

All was going well, until I realised I had miscut the skirt and the waist diameter was too small. Oh no! I could either take in the bodice, or cut the skirt shorter. Being winter, I wanted knee coverage so I boldly put some casually placed under bust darts in the bodice. It’s now barely big enough to pull on, but still works.

From a distance, the fabric reads darker than I would like

Still. It works, and I can accessorise it with brighter things. I’m pleased too that it makes another outfit base to go with these cute and comfy boots.

Here it is on. Loose and comfy and fun.