![grainline studio tiny pocket tank grainline studio tiny pocket tank](https://live.staticflickr.com/7267/7443891396_46ed35667b.jpg)
I used French seams on the side seams and to join the skirt pieces (and pockets) then made bias binding to finish the seam where the skirt joins the dress. This is fine on a light weight fabric but might not be on a medium weight one. I didn’t remove any of the fabric width on the skirt, just adjusted the gathering. The fit of the dress is quite straight and I wanted it to be a bit more fitted around the waist. The only aspect of the fit I changed was to remove about an inch at the waist on either side. I also used it for the front halves of the in-seam pockets I added and did all the topstitching in blue sew-all thread that matches the little pale blue sparks. This gave the collar a bit more body which it wouldn’t have had with the double gauze alone I don’t think. I used some Liberty Tana Lawn, left over from my Miette skirt, for the inside yoke, under collar and collar stand. Although the first thing I did was sew the button band on wrong side up so quickly discovered that you wouldn’t want to unpick this too many times I don’t think it would hold up that well. The fabric is really easy to work with because the 2 layers of gauze hold together well it cuts, sews and presses beautifully. I debated about using the sleeves from the Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt which I really like but in the end decided to go with the pattern and see how it came out- good decision as it turned out. I thought about adding shorter sleeves to this version because I’m not a big fan of sleeveless anything. Moved the bust darts to match my upper bust and apex measurements.Used the length for size 18 because I wanted a slightly longer dress this time.Graded from a 6 at the bust out to an eight at the waist and the hips.I didn’t make many changes to the pattern when I traced it off because I had already made view A…. I love how the little sparks turned blue too. It gave it the look of a really old, washed till they are butter soft, favourite jeans. I did decide the colour was a bit on the pale side for me so being that it is 100% cotton I stuck it in the washing machine with some Dylon machine dye in Jeans Blue and it worked amazingly well. This fabric is some of the softest I’ve come across- seriously beautiful. It arrived in a beautiful spotty envelope with three fat quarters squirrelled away inside as an added bonus! After some online fabric pondering and perusing I ended up buying some rather wonderful Cotton and Steel double gauze in Spark-natural (part of the Bespoke collection) from the grotto of fabric loveliness that is the Village Haberdashery. I really love this pattern and wanted to have a go at view B with the gathered skirt but using an easier to wear fabric. Much as I love my Alder Shirtdress mark 1 with sleeves- it isn’t the easiest garment to just throw on (mostly due to the slightly bonkers choice of fabric). They are just really well drafted patterns with great online construction support via the sew-alongs. I’m adding a Talvikki/Linden mash-up in a gorgeous French Terry and an Archer popover variation in double gauze to the list too. There’s a couple of Tiny Pocket Tanks too, one in Liberty and the other in a left over piece of Cotton and Steel rayon. The third was made in a heavier fabric and all cut on the bias. I added a split back detail to two, one in Japanese crepe and the other in a cotton print.
![grainline studio tiny pocket tank grainline studio tiny pocket tank](https://curateandcreate.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/img_0194.jpg)
I’ve made a few of them now, all really successful, including three Scout Tees. I am loving Grainline Studio’s patterns, they just fit and go together soooo beautifully.