Bye bye lovely Next Suit....Hello St Patrick's Day Frock or How to Make a Pattern from an Old Garment That You Love.

 Oh my fantastic Black Dress work suit that I bought from Next! I thought I looked the business in it, and wore it over and over and over again till sadly, the day came where the dress looked so bobbly and forlorn, I had to let it go.

Known for being slow to throw anything away, it languished in a black bag till I decided to use the zip for another project.  Then it occurred to me! You can have this dress again if you want it, just remake it! Yes, I know, I'm slow on the uptake.

Looking at the dress closely showed that there were a lot of pattern pieces forming panels in what was essentially a fitted dress.  Best way forward?  As the dress couldn't be saved, I took a white pencil, numbered each piece individually and took the thing apart. Drawing a diagram to use later.



I drew pattern pieces remembering to add my seam allowances, self drafted a lining after all the pieces of the dress are put together.
The original was sleeveless, so I drafted a three quarter sleeve for myself. 
So many pieces, my patience was sorely tested on this one!

Styling it out with a pleat at the front.

My model is a little less blessed in the posterior that I am.It's a whole different look on me.

I was naughty and didn't produce a toile.  I added extra allowance to the main body pieces as the original dress was snug, however I found the pieces didnt match the yoke too well.  I altered the pattern pieces for future use, but on this dress I opted to style it out by adding a pleat at the front.  

The fabric was an impulse buy in a fabric shop in Hackney.  It was lovely elderly man who was behind the counter and his customer service skills were so great I bought a lot more fabric than I intended. I'm not even sure what the fabric is, it was labelled as cotton, but I'm sure there's wool in it. It's heavy, especially after lining, but I like it.

Called the St Patricks dress, as first time I wore it someone told me to wear it on St Patrick's  Day. 
That's a complement right?  I took it mean that it's a lovely shade of green and not that I look like a leprechaun.