I used a black heavy cotton/rayon knit with lots of drape, and lined the bodice because of the weight – I’m not sure I needed to do that. I also lengthened the bodice by about an inch, because I’ve got a 40″ bust; the underbust seam now sits in the right place.

I had about 2.5m and my fabric has no nap, so I just fitted the skirt pieces the best I could – I’ve had no problems at all.

Hemming such a large curved stretchy hem was a bit of a challenge – it resisted every technique I tried. Eventually, I used a three thread overlock stitch, as it didn’t fall off the edge or bunch up like the rolled hem.

I love it, and will probably make another one when I find the right fabric.

Notes from the field: the reason it asks for so much fabric is because the skirt is very wide and very long. I had a beefy knit, and I’m kinda pear shaped – this added up to balloon-bottom. I’ve since chopped it off below the knee, and continue to take the seams in to reduce the bulk. Also, if you are going for the sleeved version, these are more “90′s short sleeve” rather than “semi-capped sleeves” like the illustration. I know that there is a big following for longer short sleeves, but on me with the beefy knit it just looked frumpy. They were shortened too. It was definitely on the large side, but that could also have been the amount of stretch in my knit – those things are way hard to predict without trying it out!

After taking in the seams again, I will be adding a contrast binding for the collar (and maybe cuffs on the sleeves) just because the colour I chose was a bit powerful. But it’s definitely comfortable, and amazingly not-too-casual for a knit dress, which is why it’s worth it to me to keep tweaking until I wear it to death!