In April the Australian Sewing Guild sent an email that advised the May challenge garment would be a cosy sweater-knit dress.  The suggested pattern was the Peppermint magazine Jersey Dress.  That was a bandwagon that I could jump on!  For some time a piece of hot pink floral printed ponte had been moving around my sewing stash.  It would get pulled out, put away again, pulled out again, put away again.  Both my daughters had rejected it as ‘a bit much’, and I had originally rejected it because I don’t generally wear hot pink.  But it was so soft and stretchy, yet substantial!  So squishy and cosy!  I presented three pattern options for the fabric to my Instagram followers – a sweatshirt, a pair of pants, and the Peppermint dress – and a considerable number thought that the dress would be the best option.  I’m so glad that I agreed with them, and quickly followed through.

First thing – I knew that I would need to somehow tone down the hot pink by using a different colour solid for the bands. Fortunately I had leftover ponte from a Blackwood cardigan that had the perfect green and still plenty of stretch! I find that ponte varies considerably – some is quite stiff and structured, while others has plenty of stretch. Much of it is down to the fibre composition. I have no clue what the composition of either of these fabrics is!

I’ve been trying hard to remember where I bought this floral knit, and have a feeling that it was from one of the little fabric shops on Sydney Road in Brunswick. The green was bought at Eliza Fabric in Sunshine. I chose to sew size 12 based on the finished garment measurements and shortened the length an inch and a half and the sleeves an inch.

I chose to do olive green topstitching throughout to both match the bands and to tone down the pink the slightest fraction. I really like the raglan fit through the upper chest and shoulders. The front neckline is about half an inch higher than I’d prefer, but it’s not uncomfortable.

The cut-on, in-seam pockets are wonderful. Really easy to sew, and they definitely stay in place! Most construction was on the overlocker, with the sewing machine just used for topstitching and stitching down the side seams near the pocket openings.

The pattern is a collaboration with In The Folds, which goes a long way to explaining why such a simple pattern is so well drafted and has such a great result.

I think that ‘cosywear’ is rather high on many people’s sewing lists at the moment – especially as the souther states of Australia moves through autumn and get closer to winter. I can throw on a scarf and a cardigan with this and with tights and boots should stay very comfortable.