I've been wanting to make a 'swing tent'-style dress ever since my flatmate rocked up in our kitchen wearing a lovely one. A t-shirt dress with evenly dispersed flare for maximum swishing is a style that ticks that much sought after 'feels like wearing pyjamas but looks quite stylish' box. After a bit of googling I found this wonderful tutorial from Ebony H' at 'SewStylist'. I was half way through making the pattern for this dress when Heather from Closet Case Patterns released her Ebony dress pattern which Heather says was inspired by this very tutorial! I half considered downing tools and just buying the pattern but I'm glad I drafted it myself using my own block as it fits perfectly around my neck and shoulders. The tutorial shows you how to make the dress by adapting the Grainline Scout tee but as I don't have that pattern I just used my own block to make a simple t-shirt first and then adapted that pattern.
I initially planned to make up a test version in this shiny velour jersey fabric before making the 'real' version in some nice grey jersey but I actually couldn't be happier with how this 'test' dress turned out and it has earned a place in my wardrobe in its own right! I've had the fabric for a few years now (bought from a stall at the Marché des Abattoirs in Anderlecht) and it was one of those 'magpie moments' when you buy something a bit mad and shiny which then sits on your shelf for ages because you don't know what to do with it. So I'm happy to have finally found a use for it! I like how the dress looks with and without a belt.
The photos were taken in Nivelles (where my boyfriend comes from) when we were having a walk around the town. When I saw this very stylish spectator stand at the running track I thought it would be the perfect spot for an impromptu photo shoot :)
