Well hello and hisashiburi! Long time no see! How have you been? I feel like it’s been forever! I’m so out of practice when it comes to blogging that I’ve kind of forgotten how it’s done. Where do I begin?

Oh right, THE FABRIC. This month, the Miss Matatabi Makers were able to work with more nani IRO! This time we were sewing with fabric from the Autumn/Winter 2015 collection, brushed cottons in three gorgeous prints, all in multiple color ways. I chose Free Way A, which is a lovely combo of taupe/gray, mustard yellow and bright yellow – perfect fall colors.

Brushed cotton is soooooooo wonderful. It’s soft and warm and comfy. It feels a bit like flannel and honestly, I feel like I could just sleep in this dress. This fabric is perfect for autumn and winter garments because of it’s warmth and it’s great for layering too. It’s easy to sew, easy to wear and easy to wash – what more could you want! As you can see, it does wrinkle a little bit, but in the fabric’s defense, I’d been wearing this dress for a couple of days already before these pictures were taken.

The dress pattern is Dress No. 2 by Sonya Philip/100 Acts of Sewing. I love this dress. The silhouette is so simple, comfortable and flattering. I feel like I should make a few more and just live in them. Sonya Philip is a local-to-me artist and pattern designer who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and she’s got a line of lovely and easy to sew patterns that you can check out here.

I did make a few modifications on this dress. The pattern is meant to be loose fitting and I’ve found that I like garments that are a bit more fitted in the arm/shoulder/bust area and then loose fitting in the waist and hip. So I started with the Medium size and brought in the sleeves and chest a bit, while still keeping the general shape. It’s still loose enough to be super comfortable without looking too big on me.

I also scooped out the neckline a bit and shortened the sleeves. This is my current favorite sleeve length. I love it so. I added a couple inches to the length of the dress because when I made Dress No. 1 by the same designer, it came out a bit too short for work. It’s still a little on the short side, but I like it.

Check out these pockets!! A favorite feature, I almost couldn’t figure out where to put them and skipped them altogether! The pattern doesn’t give you pocket placement, you choose where you want them to go and they just didn’t look right on the front of the dress, so I kept moving them around until I found just the spot. They actually cross over the side seam a bit. And they seem just right. The first time my daughter saw them she said, “Whoa! Those are the biggest pockets I’ve ever seen!” Haha, me too, Yuki, me too!!

So there it is, my new favorite fall dress. It’s been great to wear it as it is in the fall, and I look forward to wearing it with leggings and a sweater or with a long sleeved tee under it as it gets colder – it’s great for layering. I’ve gotten several compliments on it and I think it’s just the right combination of great, comfortable fabric and the right pattern – when I wear it I feel comfortable and relaxed and confident. I don’t consider this a spectacular sewing accomplishment – the pattern is very simple and you can whip one up in very little time. But I do feel absolutely lovely in it, and THAT is something to be excited about!

Thanks Frances!

∆ ∆ ∆

Thank you, Cherie! Connect with Cherie on her blog, instagram, facebook, and pinterest.