This will mostly be a photo post, because all of the details about this pattern are just a few blog posts back.  It’s my second Cashmerette Appleton dress, made only a few weeks after the first.

Now to me this is an interesting study in how fabric choice affects fit and appearance. This fabric is a wonderful viscose/lycra knit from The Cloth Shop – extremely similar in weight and drape to the fabric I used for my first dress. I adore the print. The colours are very me, and I think that it has a hint of crocodile. Does that make it a candidate for Jungle January since I am blogging it now, even though it was sewn in November?

I did pay attention to pattern placement once I laid the fabric out and realised that it was sort of directional. This was the best I could come up with, and the pieces are definitely symmetrical and balanced. It does however highlight both boobs and stomach.

In these photos I have wrapped the tie right around the front – bad move. I should have done the same as last time and only had it around the back. I feel that my stomach is definitely emphasised in this version of the dress with the tie crossing just above it.  (As an aside, it would be a good pattern for the first few months of pregnancy, if you are looking for one).  That said, I do remember feeling and looking extremely bloated the day these photos were taken. I wonder if it will be the same next time I wear it? It may have been better with the bluer parts of the print down the centre instead of the green. Will never know.

This is a lovely fabric to wear. Because I’d already made the dress once before, this one was even faster to assemble. I topstitched with a zig-zag stitch, the same as last time, but the stitching pretty much disappears into the print.

So overall, despite loving the fabric and the style, I don’t love the way that this version of the dress looks on me as much as the first one. I just feel much more self-conscious of my back and waist rolls and stomach in this one, which is interesting. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like it or won’t wear it – because I do like it and it will definitely be worn quite a bit – but I might make sure that in future I have a camisole or slip underneath to smooth things out a little. I am what I am in regards to my body shape and weight, and don’t like shape wear at all.  On the rare occasions when I buy any I always buy at least two sizes bigger than my usual dress size – no point squishing fat in one place only to have it escape out in another or have elastic digging in or rolling on movement, I just want a smoother line.  But like most people want to feel good in what I am wearing.