Pippi Pinafore Dress

Often I'll see a new pattern pop up and think 'that's nice I'd like to make it some day' and make a note to pick it up soon or keep an eye out for a sale in the future.  Every now again I see a pattern that I have to buy right now and jump it right to the front of my queue because I need to be wearing that, like, yesterday! The Pippi Pinafore dress was one of those, when I saw it announced on Jennifer Lauren's blog it just ticked all the boxes for me.

I've been wanting to make a dungaree/overall type dress for a while but I've been putting it off because I really do prefer dresses with some sort of waist. Pippi seemed to be just that, a dress with an overall sort of look but with a nipped in waist and I really liked the pockets too.  I had some lime green/yellow (I'm not really sure?!?!) viscose linen in the stash that I wasn't too attached too if it turned out to be no good so I clicked 'buy' printed out the pattern, stuck it together and got stuck in!

This pattern is fairly simple, there are quite a few pieces and a fair few steps to sewing it but none of those steps are at all difficult.  The directions are pretty clear and detailed and I did enjoy sewing this dress.  I did have a minor problem with the button band at the waist opening because I'd got it backwards somewhere and I had to make another.  I nearly made it backwards a second time so either the directions for that part are a little wonky or I got all turned around somewhere.  The piece is lined and I used contrasting fabric so next time I'll just use the main fabric for the lining too and then I can just sew it the other way round if need be.  The other bit that I found a bit of a pain was sewing down the waistband lining, I just could not get it right and I think that may have been down to the lining fabric not stretching in the same way as the main fabric so I'll try lining that with the main fabric next time too.  The pockets and bib are also lined but they caused me no problems this time so if I'm short of main fabric I can use any fabric for that without worrying.

In the end I was so pleased with the way this turned out and I will absolutely be making another really soon.  I'm happy with the way it fits, because you can just place the buttons on the straps wherever is most comfortable you can choose exactly where the waist sits once the dress is made.  This is a real advantage in my eyes because you can really get it just right. I like the way the straps poke through buttonholes at the top of the bib because I think this is a little more stable and the straps are less likely to slip down than if the were just buttoned.  The dress is comfortable and is a great style for any season just by changing what you wear underneath.  I think this particular version is more of a summer dress, mostly due to the colour but I'm looking forward to making one in a light denim or corduroy for colder months.  All in all I like this one a lot and I'm glad I went ahead and jumped it up the queue, it was a fun project to sew and I'm pretty happy I finally found something to do with that obnoxiously coloured linen!

Whooops, strap was twisted!