The B Dress

There’s little point in beating around the bush: my B dress – my Bows and Arrows Dress – is my favourite garment made to date. I’ve hinted about this make for the past couple of months, as it was made (soon) after the Yorkshire Spoolettes meet, using fabric purchased from Fabworks in Dewsbury. It was love at first glimpse, I liked the print, the colour way, the price (£6pm I believe) and I liked it all even more so when I saw the arrows were stitched and not printed.

An aim for this year is to improve my technique and skill base, so I chose a Newlook shirt dress pattern (6180), which I had cut out on paper away in Northumberland LAST Easter, eek. Collars, breast pockets, buttons and button holes…there was lots to get my head around with this make, and it certainly wouldn’t be a quick fix. I took a deep breath and resolved to being in it for the long haul.

I chose some buttons from my stash with little owls – not relevant to the print or style of dress but a good colour match for the arrows, I felt. I made the optional tie belt but didn’t alter the pattern at all (that’s still pretty much beyond me).

Thinking back, the collar and neckband came together fairly well, considering. I think I had to add a few stitches to secure the edges but it looks pretty ok. It was a more time consuming make than I usually go for, but I think the detail and style of the end product justify this investment.

In short, I love it! The length, the style, the fabric, the buttons, everything! And where better to go for my Bows and Arrows Dress than Sherwood Forest? Of course, I interwove photos with a dog walk.

I’ve already worn this dress quite a lot, to work, at weekends. It seems such a flexible outfit that I actually enjoy wearing. In fact, I went straight on to make a C Dress using the same pattern…