After despairing for the umpteenth time at the growing clutter in our spare room, where I keep my sewing paraphernalia (although I actually sew on the kitchen table, as the light’s so much better), I have categorically banned myself from buying any new fabric until I use up / sort out what I’ve already got 😦 Not as much fun, but unless you have a dedicated sewing room, I wish, I suspect this is an all too familiar problem for us all? Although maybe a better storage system would help too…
First up was this striped fabric left over from my second Coco top, see here. Not really sure why I bought so much in the first place, but it’s a good neutral. I spied that Tilly had run up a pretty Megan dress in a knit, so this seemed the ideal solution. And because of the short sleeves, I just about had enough.
The first half of this sewed up a dream in one afternoon. The second half, inserting the invisible zip, was a pain in the backside! Not sure why, I’ve inserted many a successful invisible zip before… Eventually it went in, after some serious unpicking, and with a knit fabric that wasn’t that easy. But I could not for the life of me match up my waist seams at the back. I’m suspecting it had something to do with cutting the fabric out. Knits do tend to move around a fair bit, especially for larger pieces. Maybe a rotary cutter and board would help with this? Not sure.
As I’d intended this dress for casual use anyway, I’m guessing no one will really be looking too closely. And with a jacket on, it looks just fine. It was also a toss up between a size 2 and a size 3. I went for a 3, but it’s ended up a little on the loose side. Again, the jacket helps. If I run another of these up in a knit, I’d definetly go for the smaller size next time, but maybe the bigger if I do it in a cotton. Overall, it’s, yet again, a really flattering shape, even in a size too big, and I’m really pleased with it 🙂
And lastly here’s our cat, Mr Jinks, ‘helping’ with tracing out the pattern…
Very cute, but really not a fat lot of help Mr Jinks!
The Megan Dress from Tilly’s ‘Love At First Stitch’
navybluethreads 
A great outfit, the shape really suits you and I bet it’s so comfy in a knit!
Thank you. I’ve found all of Tilly’s patterns really flattering so far. And yes, this is my new ‘lounge-wear’ dress!
Goodness, how can you say sewinf from your stash isn’t fun? You’d be surprised how enjoyable it can be using up oops fabric on toiles and letting precious fabric see the light of day! But I guess I would say that 9 months in to my year long stash diet!
A great basic day dress. Is it just me that thinks you need a red scarf with this?!
Now, a red scarf sounds a great idea! I think I’m still perfecting the art of matching the right fabric to the right pattern and I don’t always get it right, so that’s why I prefer to buy to order, but I guess I’ll get better at it with practice, so that’s a good reason to stick at it…
Looks great, and can see a touch of red looking good with this outfit too! 🍓🍎❤️🐾🍄🌹🍒🎯
That’s two votes for a red scarf then 😉 Thought I might wear it for work tomorrow, just because it’s new and all that, will see if I have one buried somewhere…
Think it looks good without tho! So wouldn’t worry if you can’t find one! Was it a quick sew?
First half was really quick, as were the sleeves. Just the zip and attempting to line up the back seams a pain, though that could of course been my cutting skills lacking a little finesse…
I have just been to put a zip in my Ruby dress from Love Sewing mag…I have done it twice and it just won’t go in nicely! I have just left it as wondering if my frustration is hampering me! I just don’t understand why a zip goes in perfectly one day and not the next!
Me neither. Liked the look of the Ruby too. Might use yours as future inspiration x
I have got gorgeous fabric, only £4 a metre so not sure of quality! It is a turquoise grey and black tartan. I have ordered a belt from Harlequin so it looks professional ….but a tall order if I can’t get the zip in! Do you ever have this real urge to get something perfect and then it never works out! Aarghhhh!
Often! Annoyingly, after I finished messing around with the zip on this, because it’s a knit I realised I didn’t even need one…
Ps do you follow Goodbye Valentino? You would love her blog!
Don’t be so harsh on yourself; you’ve done a great job and it looks lovely!
Thank you! 🙂
Oh this is a really cute dress! It’s definitely going on my to-sew list however I’m not sure about diving into knits just yet! You did so well with it though so I might be brave like you!!
Thank you! It was only the zip that caused me some tutting, would definitely recommend it 🙂
oh how I relate – the new and shiny is always far more interesting than what you already have! I keep telling myself the same thing – nothing new. Then came Arizona fabrics. Then came Cotton + Steel. Then came this or that new PDF pattern. UGH. I need intervention! 😉
I feel your pain, but seriously no more spending for me until I get the mess under control…
It’s so cute! I haven’t seen this in a knit before– it looks so comfortable. I think Tilly’s book is finally releasing in the US this month. I can’t wait to get mine!
Thanks Teri, you’ll love it. Every pattern has been so flattering so far 🙂
Your dress looks very nice! I just finished saying, a while ago, no more fabric shopping! Then I made a special trip to the mainland and bought MORE! I have two cats who “help” me cut and sew… I know what you mean!
Thank you! It’s clearly an addiction for all of us… Jinks loves a bit of crinkly paper so sewing patterns are just perfect for sitting on as far as he’s concerned 😉
Love this! Looks comfy too 🙂 And Mr Jinks! Oh my goodness he’s adorable… I’m sure he thought he was helping a lot 🙂
Thanks Kyla. Mr Jinks loves crinkly paper and all shapes and sizes of boxes to force himself into, no matter how small 😉
You can have so much fun with different colour accessory’s with this dress. You didn’t mention it but did you stabilise the seam that the zip was in?
Thanks and no. Not really sure what that means-is that because it’s a knit?
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I just read your most recent post on the better fitting Meghan dress. I still like this grey one and think you could wear it out with a nice wide belt – the shape of the dress is really nice.
Thank you, it’s actually really comfy and ideal for a Friday night sofa-and-take-away evening 😉 I think the photos must be a little deceiving, as it’s really pretty loose in the flesh…
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