WalkAway dress #GBSB

For a crochet blog there seems to be a lot of sewing going on! I blame the BBC. The long Easter weekend meant that I could make a start on the vintage Walkaway dress featured on the Great British Sewing Bee. The walkaway dress was originally advertised as a project that could be started after breakfast and finished for lunch. I started after breakfast on Good Friday and wore it for my Birthday lunch on Easter Monday. Probably not the time frame they envisaged and definitely much longer than the time the contestants in the Sewing Bee were allowed.

I chose a good quality cotton fabric in purple with white dots from my local sewing shop. Having read mixed reviews on the internet I took advice from Edelweiss sewalong and re-drew the bodice pattern using the upper bust measurement as a starting point. I cut the bias binding from the same fabric as the dress, turned it to the inside and hand stitched it. I  also turned and stitched the long circular skirt hem by hand. That took for...ever. The back is fastened with a hook and eye and the front with three buttons I covered in the smaller spot fabric.
Here I am on my birthday posing in my new frock! I've had loads of compliments so definitely a success.

I'm really happy with the fit. I wore it all day at home on my birthday and all day at work on friday including a lunchtime walk along the river. The fit around the waist is perfect. It doesn't pull down at the back. The front does ride up a little but I wore a slinky petticoat underneath to work which seemed to solve the problem. The one thing I would change is to raise the waist up about half an inch as it sits a bit low on me. Also the neck was very wide so I had to put a couple of tucks in. Another time I'd cut it differently.
On the whole though, I love it. I'm wondering about making a second in something much fancier for a summer ball.