Cozumel Shirt Dress :: One Thimble Issue 12

I made another pattern from One Thimble Issue 12 *affiliate link – the Cozumel Shirt by Winter Wear Designs.  The pattern is for sizes 1 – 14, and while it’s designed with boys in mind, it certainly can work for girls, especially with small changes like I made.

I made a few stylistic changes for the look I wanted to achieve for Arden.  I made it sleeveless, using a bias facing to finish the raw edges of the armscye.  I also lengthened it to dress length.  I didn’t add any width for the dress length, keeping it a simple shirt dress shape and allowing the pintucks to constrain the top and release to a slightly fuller skirt.  I measured to about Arden’s belly button and marked that for stopping the tucks.

Please avert your eyes from the incredibly skewed pattern on the back yoke.  I swear I carefully lined up the little polka dots at the fold line, but obviously I forgot to square the rest of the fabric.  I do think the print is considerably off-grain, so you could also believe that I was merely staying true to the grain in spite of the print.  Really, you could, I won’t mind one bit.

Instead of four 1/2″ pintucks on the back, I made eight 1/4″ pintucks; the same size as the front.  This kept the total reduction the same for matching up with the bottom of the yoke.

Another change I made was to curve the collar stand.  Arden has a slender neck compared to her shoulders and chest so I prefer to use shaped collars/stands.  I slashed the pattern piece and curved the end upward half an inch beginning where the top of the shoulder meets the neck.  It’s still pushing downward on the front neckline a bit so I should have curved a bit more it seems.

I had a bit of a glitch in constructing this shirt dress.  It seemed that the back yoke and back bodice seam didn’t quite match up for the size 7 I made.  The reduction from the pintucks factors into the fitting of these pieces, and turn of cloth can also affect the dimensions.  I double checked my sewing (remember I changed the size and number of pintucks) and the pattern pieces, but errors certainly can be made by either designer or sewist.

This is a cute design, and if you’re looking for this Mexican ‘guayabera’ style shirt this pattern could work.  I would recommend having a couple of collars and plackets under your belt before tackling it.   Arden thought the dress was comfortable and of course being pink never hurts in her book.

Outfit Details
Pattern – Cozumel Shirt by Winter Wear Designs for One Thimble Issue 12*
Fabric – polka dot cotton lawn from Mood Fabrics, and medallion cotton lawn from Jo-Ann Fabrics
Sandals – Saltwater