Crazy Cambie

I made a Cambie - yeah I know I'm a little late to the party, but I did get there in the end. This is my Crazy Cambie. It's actually a wearable muslin - as the only thing I actually bought was the zip.

A friend had given me the fabric a couple of years ago when she'd seen it in bargain corner at Ikea. The lining is a cotton sheet and the pattern was a gift.

The fabric is a thick cotton fabric, heavier than a normal cotton with a good texture, curtain weight I think. Pre washed at 40 as I know Ikea fabric does shrink.

I made the Cambie in size 6 and followed the instructions for the bodice. I made a couple of small chages to the skirt - pleating to reduce bulk at the waist and putting the pockets at the side seams rather than princess seams - the skirt is a bit less full than the gathered version, but the structure does give plenty of body. I also used a regular rather than an invisible zip. I didn't even try to pattern match as the pattern repeat was so large and quite a random design. I'm quite pleased with the over all effect.

I thought that the fit might be a bit tight, but after following the instructions exactly the bodice is actually a little big. It needs a couple of cm taking out of the waist and a bit off each side seam. I also found the sweetheart neck gaped a little. I'll be adjusting the pattern to pinch out a couple of cm from the neckline just where the sleeve joins.

My only issue with the instructions are that it is almost impossible to adjust once complete (without unpicking a huge amount). The waistband is in one piece. I may seam it at the sides to allow for adjustment next time.

I wore this to work today - not sure it was a good idea when doing ceramics with year 7 all day, but it survived, was comfy and despite the weight was cool to wear. The photos were taken after a day of work not too creased either! (iphone, so not really the best quality) Shoes are from ASDA - emergency purchase!

Soundtrack to the Cambie making:
Placebo, Clean Bandit, Alt-J, Broken Bells (well it was an all day epic).

So would you wear something this crazy? I love having something a bit unique - no one else has a dress quite like this?