Ikat Shirtdress

I seem to be on a using-my-precious-fabrics spree. This one is ikat from Cloth House again. Cotton, I think. What makes ikat special is that the pattern is planned before weaving. With the help of a bit of math, areas are masked before dyeing both warp and weft. Then, when you weave the fabric, the undyed spots should match up to create the pattern. In reality, the edges end up quite fuzzy because it never works out perfectly. It’s part of the charm of these fabrics. Mine was dyed red with the undyed bits creating a big polka dot pattern.

As you can see, none of the dots are exactly the same and the edges aren’t precise to say the least. But the eye still reads the polka dot pattern.

This fabric also has a few minor imperfections to it for the same wabi-sabi look as the fabric from last week’s shirt. It doesn’t have quite the same hand – this one is a bit stiffer than the striped fabric – but it has the same “looks good slightly rumpled” quality.

I’ve known from the start that this fabric would be a shirtdress. I’ve been wanting one for ages. They manage to be easy to wear but put together. I’ve had McCall’s 6696 waiting for me but I chose McCall’s 7351, view A without the patch pockets. It has a less voluminous skirt and kind of a shirt tail hem.

The pattern has cup sized front pieces which is great but I find the instructions for using them a little confusing. My measurements fit a straight 18 (vanity sizing, this is not). Only the measurements don’t give the upper bust circumference which are used to determine your cup size! My cup size is supposedly C. I had absolutely no clue what to do with this information. Any ideas? Anyone? I’ll search the website for more information because the instructions were not adequate for me…

After some trial and error, I blended the 16 and 18. 16 for shoulders and bust (with a C cup pattern) up to 18 at the waist and hips. That gave me a nice fit through the shoulders but enough ease to move around comfortably. Loose enough for the hot days of Summer but not sloppy.

The bust dart was way too short so I made it an inch longer but I could have done more. It’s still pointy, even with pressing.

I was afraid I’d have issues with the sleeveless style because the armhole is the same as the sleeved views but it works. It’s not super snug and high but my bra stayed hidden.

View A doesn’t have inseam pockets so I borrowed the pattern piece from views C and D to add them. It doesn’t fit perfectly because the C-D skirt has more of a curve at the waist but all I had to do was trim a little bit off the top. We’re talking about 1/4″ at most.

The construction is fine except they have you slipstitch part of the yoke lining rather than use the burrito method. I did the burrito. I’m not handstitching more than I have to!

I gave up on print matching since the dots are all different anyway. I just tried to kind of line them up. When I look closely at the pictures, I’m pretty sure I could have done a better job but I don’t notice a thing when I’m wearing it.

Oh! And I made the buttonholes smaller! I spent a whole day in that dress wearing my bag and a camera crossbody and never had a single issue.

(This picture is so green! The trees acted as a colored filter. I managed to fix the color in most pictures but this one was resistant.)