I recently had a color analysis and learned I was a “calm summer” and should focus on garment fabrics that are cool, light and muted to highlight my best features. As soon as I saw this beautiful John Kaldor cotton sateen that featured at least three of my best colors I knew it would make the perfect birthday dress! With help from some of my sewing Instagram followers I decided to make the Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 1801 in view A. I’ve wanted to make this dress for ages and what better reason than my birthday lunch?!

I hate taking the time to trace patterns so I simply cut the pieces out, pinned them to the fabric and used cutting shears to cut out each piece. It took more effort to cut out the correct shape than if I would have used a rotary cutter, but I was able to get the corners much more precisely. Pinning pattern pieces to the fabric does create small holes in the pattern and isn’t my favorite way to cut out a pattern. However, this time I accidentally used slightly dull pins and created a few small pulls in the fabric which told me it was important to use a new, sharp needle when constructing the dress. I used a size 80 Pfaff machine needle and didn’t get any more pulls in the fabric. Thankfully the few small pulls I created were hidden in the seam allowances as I constructed the dress.

I generally found the pattern instructions straightforward and easy to follow but I should have serged the sides of the dress front and back pattern pieces separately, before following the rest of the sewing instructions. I found finishing the seams difficult afterward and the pattern didn’t clearly indicate how seams should be finished. I was able to serge many seams, but ended up needing to zigzag a reinforcement stitch and use my pinking shears to ensure the side seams wouldn’t fray over time. That said, the instructions for inserting a pocket in the same side seam as the invisible zipper were impeccable and made me feel like a master tailor by simply following the instructions.

I think this is the best invisible zipper insertion I’ve ever been able to accomplish, thanks in large part to my new Pfaff Expressions 710 and the ease with which I can move my machine needle. I also ironed my zipper tape flat and hand based the zipper in advance for perfect placement. This paired with the hand stitched interior waistband finished the dress in a way I’m really proud of.

I made a size 10 with a 32 ½” bust measurement, but 36 ½” finished bust measurement. I’m a 34” bust and find the 2 ½” wearing ease a bit big, in the future I would size down at least one size (especially since I’m nursing a baby right now.) And I would certainly use this beautiful fabric again for additional garments in my “calm summer” capsule wardrobe.

Pattern: Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 1801
Size: 10
Fabric: John Kaldor Lizzano Cotton Sateen Fabric in pink and blue floral
Time Estimate: 8 hours, including cutting and sewing

Cost to Make:
pattern - previously owned, approximately $10 value
fabric - gifted, $64 value plus shipping
thread - $4, 100% polyester Gutermann
zipper - $4, 14” Coats & Clark invisible zipper
TOTAL: $82 value


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