Onion-Flower Pleated Dress

At some point in the last few years I picked up a couple of metres of this cheerful onion-flower cotton print. I don’t know if they’re actually supposed to be onion flowers, but that’s what I think of when I see them. Or maybe chive blossoms. I don’t know. Either way, pretty, fluffy flowers in pastel shades that make me think of deliciously savoury flavours… which is exactly what you want in a strip of fabric, right?

As usual, I had no project planned when I bought it, so it sat in my stash for a while. But one weekend I resolved to deal with it, shoved it in the washing machine for its pre-wash/pre-shrink, and just kind of assumed that some kind of pattern would come to me in time.

And it did. Perusing my bookshelf I found “Stylish Dress Book” by Yoshiko Tsukiori, which I’d picked up from a second-hand bookshop a few years before and completely forgotten about. One of the perils of organising one’s bookshelf by colour rather than category is that things do get lost like this; on the flip side, they can then emerge exactly when you need them, when the universe deems it right and proper.

Anyway, as the fabric flapped in the breeze on my washing line, the book leapt out at me. It has a full alphabet of patterns (i.e. 26), with a mix of casual-fit dresses and tops suitable for a variety of prints and patterns. What caught my eye was view E: a dress with a pleated front, boat neck, and gathered roomy skirt. And pockets, of course.

The thing I like most about this dress is that it’s very roomy. The first time I wore this was to our office summer party, at which I was not drinking (dry July) and planned to make up for that by eating literally everything from the buffet. I needed room to expand; and I can reveal that I made good use of all that space.

On the flip side, the roominess does make it look both a bit maternity and a bit kid’s party dress, which is an odd combination from a psychological perspective. Half of me worrying that I’m going to be asked when I’m due, half of me (mentally) twirling on the dancefloor. Makes it fun to get dressed, mind - I look in the wardrobe on a random Tuesday and say to myself ‘is it party dress day? it’s party dress day 🎉 let’s goooo’.

I often pattern match pockets, but decided not to on this and I do regret it a little. It’s not a big thing, it’s just a little easter egg that nobody else notice or care about, but gives me a little joy to see for myself. Like my silly little labels, or using a patterned topstitch where a straight one would do. It makes a project feel… not necessarily polished, but well-thought-out.

However, the pockets are at the perfect level. I often misjudge the height of my pockets, and end up with velociraptor arms in too-high pockets, or having to fish around in the depths of too-low pockets to retrieve my things. These are just right, though they do tend to bag out a little when they have things in them and feel a bit insecure, so I’ll have to think about how to construct them in a slightly smarter way for future projects.

The neckline is very elegant (definitely going to pinch it for future projects), although after a couple of washes the lining/interfacing is rippling a bit. The finishing is (somewhat uneven) zig-zag stitch done on a standard sewing machine, so that may not be helping. At some point I’ll get an overlocker, and I’ll see if that helps stabilise things.

Plus, I like the pleats but mine are very wonky; I did not measure them carefully when I was pinning and once I realised they were off, I couldn’t be bothered to go back and fix them. Fortunately a busy pattern like this hides a multitude of sins. I also should have done a full-bust adjustment, as the neckline pulls a bit and the pleats end mid-boob, contributing to the maternity/party-dress vibe I mentioned earlier. Live and learn.

All in all, I enjoyed working with the pattern. It’s the first one I’ve made from the book, and after this experience I’ll almost certainly make more from it… albeit with some adjustments. If you’re interested, you can get the book here:

(FYI this is an affiliate link: so if you buy, I may earn a commission from uk.bookshop.org.)