Simple Sew Zoe Dress pattern in denim.

A little break from the home tailored 3-piece suit and a quick post about the Zoe dress pattern from Simple Sew. The pattern came free with issue 1 of Sew Now magazine and my wife spotted its potential. Now to be honest, I don’t usually make many magazine patterns; don’t get me wrong but as a man, not many appeal to me! Occasionally my wife will spot a pattern and ask me to make it, so the Zoe dress it was.

The pattern is a really simple tunic style dress. No darts or fastenings, so a great beginners piece. The front and back panels are in two pieces with a centre seam. The addition of topstitching really makes it a feature. The dress has a nice patch pocket (or two, if you like), a large neck opening and dropped shoulder cuffs.

Making up

A while back I bought some 2-way stretch denim, although I’m not really sure what for! Perfect for the Zoe dress though, so I set to work. Cutting out was a breeze with so few pieces and the instructions where very clear. The only thing I didn’t like about the pattern was how ‘plain’ it looked. A tunic is pretty shapeless at the best of times but I wanted to make it stand out a little. So…

Deviating from the instructions, I made the pocket with a contrasting top facing (reversing the original fabric).

Quite often you see denim with orange topstitching so I kept that tradition, well nearly. I used a metallic orange thread that really stands out when the light catches it. The two-tone theme continued, after the pocket, with the cuffs and hem being finished in the same manner.

Overall a great, quick, pattern and certainly a nice break from the intensive suit making experience! The pattern is accurate and goes together well but just check the size of the finished neck and overall length: If you have narrow shoulders the neck might be a little too big and the dress is longer than the pattern picture suggests (I shortened my version)