In case you couldn’t tell from my makes, I love dresses. Short dresses, long dresses, formal dresses, casual dresses – you name it, I’ll wear it. Because of this, I’ve noticed a serious lack on cute, plus size shirtdress patterns. There are a few patterns on my to do list, such as Penny by Colette/Seamwork and Kalle by Closet Core Patterns, but I’m always on the hunt for the perfect shirtdress pattern. I was over the moon when Jenny at Cashmerette reached out to me and asked if I was interested in making the Lenox shirtdress, which has been refreshed and expanded to size 32.
Lenox is an adorable shirtdress featuring princess seams, a band or traditional collar, and a choice between a gathered or a pleated skirt. And you can’t have a great shirtdress without pockets and Lenox has some nice and juicy pockets! The result is a stylishly chic and perfectly tailored shirtdress that I can wear year-round.
I sewed Lenox in a size 28 G/H cup bodice and graded out to a 30 waist, but I ended up trimming 1.5 inches from the bodice’s side seams. My sleeves are size 28 and bands are 26. I chose the banded collar and the pleated skirt. For this Lenox, I used waxprint from my stash that I purchased from House of Mami Wata a year ago. This particular design is unavailable right now, but there are tons of other beautiful waxprints available.
The instructions were pretty straightforward, and I had no issues until I got to the button band. Because of all the angles, I had a really hard time figuring out the geometry of the neck/button band. Here’s a tip to sew the button band – when you’re pinning the band pieces together, make sure most of the notches are on the inner band. Only one notch should be on the outer band. If things look weird, pin or baste the band on and evaluate how it looks. There should be a V-neckline that meets in the middle down the dress. If anything doesn’t look correct, remove the pins or the basting stitches, flip the band around, and see how that looks. The band is towards the end of this project, so it’s worth it to take your time and get it right. You can pick up Lenox now for 15% off at this link. Happy sewing!
