And it’s back to a tried and true pattern, Vogue 8805!  I love the first two versions that I made (here and here) and definitely believe that when you’re on a good thing, you should stick to it.  (In contrast to my other definite belief, that there are so many patterns and styles out there waiting to be made, why not try something new?)

Anna had given me the gorgeous floral printed linen some time ago, but I was really unsure what to make from it. That beigey-lineny colour is absolutely not a flattering colour near my face. It was when I was doing some stash sorting that I put it down next to the green shot cotton (that also came to me courtesy of Anna, thanks so much again Anna for growing my stash!) and realised that the two would work well together. Enter Vogue 8805 for a little colour/print blocking!

As with my second version of this pattern, I joined the bottom two panels together into one, which left the contrast just as the solid across the top of the bodice. I made size 14 with a B cup as per the pattern measurements, and shortened the dress through the centre of the body piece. I used a covered button at the centre back closure, and finished the neckline with a strip of bias binding cut from the floral linen and turned to the inside. I have scooped out the neckline considerably more than the pattern, lowering the centre front around two inches or so. It took me quite a few tries to get the curve looking good – thank goodness I had access to a french curve.

Despite not looking very happy in the above photo, this dress is a success. The amount of ease that I like, nice and cool, and a great way to use some of the beautiful floral linen.