Sewaholic Cambie Dress: A Wearable Muslin

I bought the Sewaholic Cambie Dress from Indie Stitches late last year with great plans for a 'conference Cambie'. Clearly I got a little distracted. Also a really long time ago, I promised my little sister I'd make her a dress of her choosing out of some elephant fabric she'd bought. She chose the Cambie! Well, I wasn't about to give her the first version I made up. I needed to have a practice run to make sure hers was perfect. This version acts as a practice run for Gen's dress as well as a wearable muslin for my future Cambie's.

For this dress I made version B (full skirt) in a size 8. I'm pear shaped so I can cut a straight size when using Sewaholic patterns - fantastic! I made no adjustments to the pattern other than to use the width of the folded over fabric for my skirt pieces as it was slightly narrower than the pattern pieces. Hard to believe my skirt could be poofier!

My fabric is a a floral lightweight cotton  which I also have in the pink colour way (see Gerties Bow Tied Blouse). This dress is fully lined in white cotton lawn.

 I had so much more fun sewing this dress than I antitcipated. There are just so many pieces that I thought it might be a tricky make. But, It really wasn't! Tasia's instructions are spot on. I didn't even need to reference the online sew-along. Simply put, the garment construction just involves making the dress shell, the dress lining and then sewing them together inside out. Gen's dress will be a version A (a-line skirt) and unlined, as she chose a thick fabric, so I imagine her dress will be an even easier make.

When I tried on the almost finished dress I could see that the straps would need to be adjusted, but I didn't realise by how much! I ended up removing 3/8" from both the front and back shoulder as well as easing the front sleeve in a further 6/8". Thus, I removed a whopping 1.5" from the sleeve. The finished dress is much improved but some fabric could be removed from the centre front and I also find the bodice a little too long. For my own future versions and Gen's dress I will remove 1/2" from the bodice length.

I love this Cambie. It feels super girly with the lined poofy skirt and it totally fits into my preferred fit and flare style. I'm sure I'll get a heap of wear from it in spring. Anyone in Melbourne will know that its too damn cold to be wearing this very springy dress in the middle of winter. So I layered it up with tights, my pink Coppelia Wrap Cardy, another store bought Cardy, a scarf plus my jacket for outside. 

Unfortunately, as you can see, these are more indoor shots. I tried to patiently wait for weekend photo opportunities with some of my other makes but I like to wear them as soon as I've made them and then they end up in the washing basket before I get the chance to take photos. The above photos I took in our living area. My sewing room gets better light during the day. But photos in my sewing room are filled with a back drop of WIP's and carpet littered with thread. Bring on Spring/summer!