Bold Striped Duster: Simplicity 8546

I love the style of shirtdresses, but I very rarely wear them. For one they are usually made with cotton fabric and I hate to iron (which is one of the reasons I love to sew with knits). Also since I've started sewing they've just seemed like to much work to make...collars, cuffs, buttons and buttonholes. Sigh.

But after I saw MimiG's version of S8546 I knew I wanted to sew View B for myself for this Fabric Mart Fabricista guest blog post! Fabric Mart always has a great selection of shirting, so much so that I ended up grabbing two prints, this black and white vertical stripe and a large scale blue plaid.

I debated the vertical stripes because well it's a bold choice. I knew it would either be fashionably chic piece or a epic fail. I mean b&w vertical stripes scream umpire or worse...Beetle Juice, eck! Good or bad I decided to go for it though I'm still not quite sure if I nailed it or failed it, but I think I can pull it off.

Either way I am pleased with this project, I've built my confidence on sewing collars and cuffs. Even my buttonholes weren't as much of a challenge this time. Admittedly I omitted all the buttons and buttonholes on the front because I mainly plan on wearing this as a duster. That still left 6 buttonholes, two on each cuff and one on each sleeve tab (which I added from View A).

Sadly even if I wanted to wear it as a dress I'd have to lose a few pounds to button it. Somehow I managed to cut a 16 instead of a 18. Though now that I'm looking at the photos I might go ahead and add buttons. What color though? black? white? gold?

Pattern: Simplicity 8546Pattern Description: Misses' and Miss Petite shirt dress pattern has sleeve, collar, cold-shoulder and length variations with button front placket detail.Sizing: 6-14, 16-24Difficulty: 3/IntermediateFabric Used: Black and White vertical stripe shirtingDoes it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope? YesWere the instructions easy to follow? YesLikes: Straightforward shirt dress pattern with a good number of views.Dislikes: NonePattern alterations or any design changes made: None, except add the sleeves from View A to View BWould I sew it again? Yes, I want to sew up View AWould I recommend it to others? Definitely, if you like shirt dresses.Conclusion: Versatile shirt dress pattern