Is That a Bed Sheet You're Wearing?

Haven't we had some lovely weather, here in the UK, this week (although, as I write this, the sun has gone and it's turning rather chilly).  Spring seems to have finally arrived in the northwest of England.  The blossom on our tree has decided to put in an appearance.

Although it isn't in full bloom yet, I think it's hedging it's bets!

With the sunny weather, I have no excuse not to be gardening.  I've managed to tidy up quite a bit, so it's not looking too bad.  My dandelion collection is thriving and there's more moss on the lawn than grass, but interesting things are growing and I'm happy with my efforts.

I'm hoping to get my knitted cardigan finished this weekend and I'm making good progress with my Sophie's Universe blanket.  This week, however, I've been concentrating on dress making.  With the sunny weather I thought it was about time I turned some of my fabric collection into wearable dresses.

All well and good, but with advancing years, I seem have become more and more cautious .  There was a time when I would happily hack into a length of fabric without a care in the world.  Now, the thought of that first cut fills me with dread.  So I decided to do a trial run of my dress pattern.  I think you're supposed to do this anyway with a new pattern but I've never had the time for sensible ideas like that before.  It seemed a shame to put all that effort into making something that was only for practice, a bit like having to knit tension squares before you start the actual garment.

So I had a cunning plan!  I bought a bed sheet with a pretty pattern from Primark (reduced to £4) with the idea that if it didn't look too bad I could at least wear the finished article around the house.

And do you know, I'm amazed at how great the dress has turned out.  I haven't put the zip in yet (need to buy one) and the neck facing and hem haven't been completed, but it looks wonderful when I've tried it on.

The darts went well, the pleating for the skirt fell together like a dream and even putting in the sleeves wasn't too stressful.  The pattern was so well explained (I'll give details of the pattern shortly).

I'm still patting myself on the back, and I think I may be able to get away with wearing this out and about - no one need know it's a bed sheet!

When I've sewn in the zip and finished it off, I'll post some pictures of me wearing it.  And then I'll make it again with the proper dress fabric I've bought - let's hope it all goes as well next time.