I must be an idiot, because I really hate the new WordPress block editor. I don’t want to add a block. I want to type and have the option of embedding photos without clicking on a plus sign.

Ok. My frustrated little rant is done, and now on to the reason for this post: a shirt dress made last summer from a lovely cross-dye medium weight linen. I confess I have so many fabrics. My stash is an embarrassment of riches, and I really loved this linen when it arrived in the mail a couple of years ago. I originally had planned to make summer linen trousers with this, but I had two lengths, one of which wasn’t quite a metre, so trousers were out.

What to do with it?

I decided on the very popular shirt dress pattern from a few years ago: McCall 6696, dictated by the lengths of the two pieces of linen. It was my version of a muslin, although this is definitely not a muslin. I wasn’t sure I would look good in the style or be comfortable wearing it. It’s a little more ‘office attire’ than I had intended, but that is a result of the fabric. And, typical of how I work, when I make the dress again, I will change a few things: raise the armscye 5cm, and forgo the short waist adjustment. These will both be necessary in a sleeveless version, which I would like to make.

My favourite part of the pattern is the blousing in the back.

And I used up some bemberg from a previous project for lining the skirt and binding the armscyes. I always like a lined skirt, and it helps the linen to not be too wrinkled by the end of the day.

I added extra hooks and thread loops to where the waistband and the front band intersect to help it lie closed, instead of flipping (or straining) open.

I like to finish the interior of my garments as nicely as I possibly can because it makes me happy when I put them on, and when I wear them. And bemberg feels so amazing to wear. I know people prefer crepe de chine or, in the case of a linen garment, cotton voile or batiste, but there is nothing that feels cool and slippery in the heat, or keeps wool from sticking or itching in the winter, like bemberg, imho.

I’ve only had a chance to wear this dress once, but I am very impressed with the quality of this linen. The photos were taken after wearing for the day, and you can see for yourself how little the linen creased. Oh, and as for the rant about the WP blocks, a little reading soon made my life easier. Ha!