I’ve shared my love for French indie pattern co. DP Studio on here before. I made the 601 ruffled blouse (see it here!) and I LOVED their style and aesthetic – it’s just so fearless!

My second make from them is the 600 blouse which I’ve changed into a dress. 

It looks like a really simple pattern on the surface – a boxy blouse with a collar, open back and cinched waist – but there’s so much more going on. 

The front has a series of pleats into the neck. The sleeve is just plain weird (in a good way) with an almost raglan shoulder pleat detail. The split collar closes at the back of the neck with a series of little buttons along the collar stand and back yoke leaving the majority of the back open. 

I really liked the idea of turning this blouse into a dress by extending all the bodice pieces. 

I initially wanted to make this dress out of a pink floral fabric but it had an border print that just wouldn’t work with the pattern piece size. In the end I went with an off white crepe with a grid pattern that I got in my last haul from Stoff & Stil. 

Putting this make together was not as straightforward as I would’ve hoped. The instructions are a little bare and I’m not a huge fan of their illustrations. In other words I would wait until you’ve got a few makes under your belt before you try it!

That being said the pattern itself is very good and goes together well. There’s a small error in the labelling of one of the elastic casing pattern pieces but otherwise I thought it was all accurate. 

I struggled the most with the sleeves! It took me a while to figure out which way everything was supposed to go in. Then I stitched them in the wrong way around so I had to unpick it all and redo it! I love how they turned out though so it was worth the effort!

I tried the dress with the elastic as the pattern is supposed to be but I ended up unpicking that too. I think the crepe was a little to heavy/ bulky and it looked a little strange. I decided to keep it as a tent style minidress which actually works pretty well! Plus it means that it perfect for a big meal! 😂

Closure wise on the back, I initially put in rouleau button loops but I really didn’t like how they looked (my fabric was too thick to make nice loops. I switched them out for some hook and eyes which I think look better even if they catch my hair a bit when I wear it!

I made this dress just in time to wear for my birthday brunch at the Sky Garden a few weeks ago!