Oliver + S School Photo Dress

Here's one of those things that I just wanted to make. My daughter probably won't like it, she doesn't really need it, but when I saw the fabric I just knew what it wanted to be made into. The School Photo dress by Oliver + S

I love this pattern and I've made it once before, also using a remnant. That time was a size 5 as I had only bought the larger pattern size. It's in a cupboard, waiting another 3 years or so before it fits! Of course I had to buy the smaller pattern size and make another.

The fabric was a 70cm remnant that I picked up at The Fabric Store along with all these other lovely bits of woven goodness. I tried desperately to make it fit with the pattern running horizontally but there was no way even this fabric Scrooge could do it.

I made some notes at the time about what I thought I'd do with all the rest of the fabric. I don't think any of it has happened yet. Tragically, it had been my New Year's Resolution not to buy too much more fabric (I wasn't kidding myself I could go cold turkey) and in looking for this photo, it was in the January folder, dated the 15th. Didn't last long did I?

So while I couldn't get the pattern to run the way I wanted I completely lucked out on the back with this bit of pattern matching! There's three panels there and I'm so happy with how they came together. At first I sweated on trying to line everything up, but then I realised that the panels of the dress flared in width, so if the pattern matched at the top it wouldn't at the bottom and vice versa. So I poured another glass of red and just got on with cutting it anyway it would fit, so I really can't take credit for this picture. But I am pleased all the same.

The button came from a collection that my mother in law gave me, and the dress is lined in a milky coffee coloured voile that a local shop had for $2/metre.

The pattern is, of course, superb in it's explanation and design. The little kangaroo pocket in front is lovely, and is just the kind of trick that may persuade A to wear it. Meanwhile the instructions for the invisible zipper will always be my go to reference if I need to sew one.

The one thing I remembered from the first dress is that the instructions mention serging all the straight edges first IF you're using a serger. I don't have one, so I didn't. There are very few mentions of finishing the seams allowances after that and so I assumed I didn't need to, but the lining hangs free so those seam allowances do need finishing. This time I finished all the straight edges before assembling anything. The one in the cupboard is a velveteen that I just know will fall apart if it's washed. I can't bear to go back to something that I should be able to consider finished, but I know I must...