I’d only vaguely been thinking about the Convocation ceremony this year when I ran into a fabric that would be perfect. The pattern is fun, but still appropriate for work things. It’s a dark blue with little white bars topped with red blocks. The contrast wide stripes on one end of the fabric would work really well as a hem, I thought. The fabric itself is a thick knit, so easy to work with.
I used a pattern from Simplicity Naaimode 41, model 4, also known as Simplicity 8751, version 2. I made some changes to the original though. I left off the sleeves, as the slight extension on the shoulders looked like it would be plenty. I don’t like drop sleeves. To make sure it would cover enough, I did raise the underarm edge a little. However, the neckline was quite wide so I added some afterthought strips to narrow the neckline. I moved the waistband from the inside to the outside and used the dark contrast stripe from the edge of the fabric. Finally, I had to include some decent pockets!
I finished this thing almost a month before the event actually happened! I don’t think I’ve ever been this in time. I didn’t even dally with the hem, which was done sooner than some of the other details. The dress doesn’t have closures, but you make it fit with ribbons in the waistband tunnel. Since I put the tunnel on the outside, I could use those functional ribbons for some extra pizzazz. It worked well and we had a great ceremony!