Battenburg And Berries Dress

Sweet and classy. A perfect piece for afternoon tea or a friend's wedding.
This is the eighth dress of my handmade collection. I started making dresses out of bedsheets in Halifax in 2010, using my current wardrobe to design patterns tailored for my shape, and modifying the pattern with each new dress.

This dress sits high at the neck, adorned with a vintage off-white battenburg collar (picked up at a thrift shop for 99 cents). The button closure on the back of the collar was very plain, so I removed it and sewed on a purple-tinged pearl shank button in its place. There is a lovely peep hole in the back of the dress (a nice way to showcase a tattoo if you happen to have one there - which I do!).

I'm not a big fan of fussing with zippers, so this dress is designed to fit perfectly over my head and shoulders, and keeps its shape with an elastic waistband. Clean, subtle pockets in the side of the skirt make this piece extra handy for those who like to keep lip gloss, cell phones, etc at the ready.

This project cost less than $30 to make.

*I'm currently unable to list all the project needs due to a bug. They include: thread, an elastic band, a shank button, a thin hand-sewing needle with a small eye, a darning needle, and a battenburg collar.