It was a very easy pattern to put together! There are princess seams in the front, and the centre panel is cut as two pieces as well, because there is supposed to be topstitching along all those seams. However, I didn’t use the topstitching in the end — on my samples, neither the black or green topstitching I tried were visible from more than a few inches away so there was not really a point on this busy print. I wish I would have figured that out before cutting the pieces out, as I would have cut the centre panel on the fold otherwise. I had enough fabric to make sure the patch pockets were placed with the print near to matching as well.

The cutting was the longest and most intimidating part. When I laid the fabric out I realized that the print was both large and regular. I wasn’t too worried about matching up the print in the sense of having a flower carry across a seam, necessarily, but I did want to be sure that the pattern was balanced across the whole of the dress and that the clear horizontal repeat was not askew. It took a fair bit of placement and moving pattern pieces around, but I got to it in the end. The bust point isn’t marked (it’s on the seam) so I had to figure that out and be sure a giant flower didn’t end there – that was my starting point. Then I basically used the hemline as the plumb line to be sure each piece was sitting on the same plane.

My adjustments were pretty standard for me: I cut 14 at the neckline and shoulder, and 16 at bust, grading to 18 at hip. I shortened it by an inch above the waist, and raised the bottom of the neckline slit by an inch.

I made View A but used the sleeves from View B.  And I added on 2″ to the View A hem, as I prefer a slightly longer skirt.

This was a fun project, and I really like the silhouette. The fabric was a pleasure to sew, taking pressing and manipulation well, and it is heavy enough to wear without worrying about see-through. I’m never one to shy away from using quilting cotton in garments. As long as you remember to use the properties of a fabric to its best effect, you can make nearly anything work for you.