The Perth Dress from Carolyn & Cassie (AKA @handmadebycarolyn) is the first womenswear sewing pattern release from this little indie company.

I know, I know. Yet another shirt dress. But I felt this one was different enough to be worth trying out!

The Perth dress has a dartless A line shape featuring a back yoke, set in sleeves and a exaggerated pointed collar.

The collar and dress opening is where the interest lies in this pattern. I just couldn’t understand how it all worked when I was looking at the samples/ tester versions!

The shirt has a single button opening and an interesting pleat detail on the front. It’s created by overlapping buttonholes on each side of the collar stand attaching to a single button in the middle of the neckline.

It’s definitely what I’d consider “out-of-the-box” in terms of sewing methods!

The dress (or blouse if you make the short version) is a lovely simple make. I don’t think the instructions are the best, nor he illustrated drawings, but to be honest it’s simple enough that I reckon most people will get on with it easily enough.

I chose a really funky fabric that I’ve had in my stash for 18 months! It’s a printed twill that I bought in Hong Kong which I fell in love with but then felt it was too precious to cut into!

I decided to use it for this make after seeing Vesna’s (@kelerabeus) bright magenta version. It’s just worked so well in such a vibrant colour. I think the simple silhouette creates a lovely base to really show off a fabric.

And ta-da! Here’s my version…

I love the pop of colour in the fabric.

Fit wise it’s pretty easy going. Just check there’s enough clearance over your finished bust measurement. I was between sizes and opted to size down due to the loose fit.

The only thing I’d say with this garment is that the dress feels like it’s pulling towards the back and strangling me slightly!

I think I’ll need to do a fit adjustment in the future to raise the back neck slightly and also adjust the shoulders. It’s not something I’ve had to do in the past but it’ll be interesting to see how it works out!