For her Simple Sew debut, Lena King shares her gorgeous version of the Babydoll dress. Find out how she created this A-line, 60s inspired garment below!

I love a new dress and this dress with its simple shape, lovely puffed half sleeves and interesting detail of buttons down the back is a winner! Babydoll conjures up for me images of loose fitting empire line dresses, but this is a shift dress with a nod to the sixties.  I wanted to give mine more of a sixties vibe, so I raised the hemline by two inches and made it in this gorgeous retro look fabric. It is a Lady McElroy lawn in an amazing large floral print. The colours are so lovely.  I bought the fabric from Sew Me Sunshine a while ago and have been waiting for the right pattern.

The  dress was a straightforward make. The bodice is shaped with bust darts and there is gentle shaping through the waist and hips. I took some time to decide which size to make as I am not yet familiar with Simple sew patterns. Looking at the finished garment measurements, I went for the size 12 through to the waist and then graded out to a 14 at the hips. I wanted to make a fitted garment.

I decided to line the dress rather than use facing. I’m not a big fan of facings as I can never get them to lie flat. Also I know that fabric like lawn has a tendency to ride up, lining stops this. It really isn’t very much more work to line a dress than to use facing and the results can be so much more professional looking. The lining can also act as a toile,  which is helpful.

The sleeves are really lovely, they have just the right amount of puff for me. I found the written instructions for making the sleeve a little confusing but just following the pictures was enough to create the pretty sleeve. Although I cut a size 12 sleeve, I  cut a size 14 cuff because I don’t like tight cuffs. I’m  really happy with how the sleeves turned out.

The thing I was nervous about with this pattern was the back buttoning – would there be gaping? When I followed the pattern guidance for the buttons, there certainly was gaping! I fixed this by adding more buttonholes. My dress has 13 buttons instead of the recommended nine – nobody needs to see me flashing! I do think though that when I  make another I would insert a zip. Or maybe hide a zip under a faux button placket. The thing is, whilst the buttons look cute unless you’re a contortionist you need someone to help you in and out of this dress!

When I finished the dress,  lovely as it was, I  felt it needed more. The neckline needed adorning, that was it! I spent an evening on Pinterest looking at 60s and 70s dresses and looking for tutorials on how to draft various collars. Eventually I settled on this Peter Pan collar. It gives the make even more cuteness I think.

Several other hacks went through my mind while making this: sheer sleeves, long  bishop sleeves, straight ¾ sleeves,  sleeveless for layering, patch pockets- Mary Quant style, tiered maxi perhaps.

I really love this dress, I’m hoping to be able to wear this all year round. Do give this pattern a try, I should point out that the size range is 8 -20, UK.  The suggested fabrics are light to mid-weight cotton viscose or satin. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised to hear that an Ankara one is already on my summer make list!

We hope you loved Lena’s pattern review. Discover this pattern along with lots of haberdashery, sewing magazines and gifts here

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