Have you ever had that moment when there’s a pattern you’ve seen and passed by maybe ten times but on that eleventh sighting you decide that that’s the pattern you just can’t live without?

It’s just happened to me with the Adrift dress from Papercut patterns!

The Adrift dress is part of the Ahoy collection and was released over 2 years ago. Over that time I must’ve scrolled part it dozens of times and it never really made much of an impression on me. But on the most recent passing through the Papercut site, it really struck me as something that would really suit my current needs and style.

Adrift is a loose fit dress with a dropped shoulder bodice that ends with a frill as the sleeve, the waist in cinched in with a drawstring and a wrapped skirt with a flounce.

To be honest I think it was mostly that flounce skirt that swayed me! It definitely echoed a lot of what is “trendy” at the moment with all the frilliness. That being said it also seemed like a practical summer dress for my trip to Egypt later in the year (in other words, it’s relatively modest).

In a rare moment, I printed the pattern out as soon as I got it and got started making one right away! (I’m usually the person who flaps about and doesn’t make my latest pattern purchases for at least six months by the way, so this was an absolute miracle!)

I think it helped that I had an idea fabric on hand to use!

I chose a sunny yellow (think Amal Clooney at the latest Royal wedding) viscose crepe that I’d picked up at a fabric sample sale for £2/metre. It was an absolute bargain!!

I made this dress up in a Medium and exactly as printed – no adjustments for fit or anything for once! It was a good thing too as I normally shorten bodices and skirts to make up for my short stature but I have a feeling if I’d done that it would have ended up way too short! (Note to any tall people out there – add length to the bodice and skirt unless you want it super mini!).

The construction of this dress was so easy and very beginner friendly. It pulls on overhead so there were no fussy closures. The pattern pieces came together really well and altogether took me half a day to make. The only tricky bit was the waist tie. I opted to forgot the eyelets and used a tiny buttonhole instead. That wasn’t the problem though. The problem I had was getting the was getting the cord for the tie through the channel! I was using quite a thin cord which unfortunately frayed easily and though I managed to find a safety pin small enough to traverse the tiny buttonhole and tie casing it was a bit of a struggle.

That being said it’s still an easy dress to make and I love the end result!

I wonder if I should try it in a print? 🤔