This was written by An from StraightGrain for the Miss Matatabi Makers series.

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Hi there! It’s An from StraightGrain with a new Miss Matatabi Makers post.

Those of you who follow my blog know that I love Cotton + Steel. I was looking forward to their first collection months before it released, and since its release I’ve been making quite a few items in their fabrics (with many thanks to Frances for carrying every. single. fabric. of their collection). In the past weeks, I saw some sneak peeks of their upcoming second collection (which includes double gauze. Double! Gauze!) but I can’t say I’m done with their first collection yet.

So in the past week, I stitched up a little dress in Steamer Trunk in Navy Cream from Alexia Abegg’s collection Hatbox. The dress is very simple: a basic bodice (from my Hanami pattern) plus a semi-circle skirt. Semi-circle skirts have many advantages: they are fast to make (no gathering), they use up less fabric than a circle skirt, and need less hemming too. On my blog, I’m sharing a tutorial today for how to draw a pattern for a perfect semi-circle skirt.

The fabric had a bit of a ’70s vibe to me, so I decided to go for a full throttle Mad Men style and I added a little how to the front neckline. The Cotton Couture Solid Gold fabric in my stash matched perfectly with the Hatbox fabric.

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Thank you so much An! Connect with An on her blog, instagram, facebook, and pinterest.