Grey Swiss Dot Ralph Pink Dress

I discovered Ralph Pink pattern when I was really into corset making two years ago. At some point I booked marked the Phaedra Drape to make, and I finally got around to making it!!

I decided to start with a cheaper, cotton Swiss dot fabic – its a little more structured, but given this is my first time using his patterns, I didnt want to put in my precious silks.

I loved the pattern! It is very well drafted and fits perfectly. Even though its a A shaped flowy dress, it feels like it still has a good, flattering shaping to it. Some tips on the pattern:

• When I was making it, I wanted to have no seam between the pocket and the side panel, but the pattern pocket was marked on the wrong side for one of them
• similar to  Emily’s tip on the pattern, I did my usual “stitch the neckline & armholes and just put one of the tubes in the other thing”.
• The dress on the picture had extra panels in the front comparing to the line drawing. Some extra (easy) hack would be needed to do the two-fabric version

Other than that, this is an amazing pattern, and very simple to make up. I do find the opening for the legs a little restrictive when i am sitting around in weird positions (having an overly active 3 year old will put you in some weird positions!), and may make the entire bottom open next time when I make this up with similar stiff-ish fabric (which would change the shape drastically). Though as is i love the little thick interfacing on the bottom of the skirt! I also really like this neckline and racer back shaping – its nice to have a satisfying shape without having to fiddle with it.

I cant wait to make my next version!  Thank you for reading!