Cotton + Chalk Zoe Dress Sewing Pattern Review

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about my fabric stash and the fact that I'm trying to shrink it a bit, and the project I have to share with you today is the first step in that process. This is my Cotton + Chalk Zoe dress.

The Zoe dress was originally included with an old issue of Simply Sewing magazine, but I picked up my copy in a charity shop a month or two ago. It's an easy-to-wear pullover trapeze style dress with side-seam pockets. Not so long ago, I wouldn't have been drawn to this pattern, but I really enjoy wearing the Closet Case Patterns Ebony dress that I made at the end of last year so I thought I'd give this silhouette another try.

This pattern is really simple to sew - there are no darts or fastenings, just front pieces, back pieces, back straps, facings and pockets. Happily for me, that meant that I was able to sew it up at the end of last week just in time to take it away for a long weekend in Cornwall, where these photos were taken.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Although it has to be said that with a pattern this simple it would be hard to make the instructions complicated!

In terms of sizing, the pattern recommends a M for my bust measurement (38") and L for my waist and hips. I knew there wouldn't actually be any need to size up in the waist and hips with all the volume in this dress. I checked the finished bust measurement for the M (42") and decided that it would be bigger than I wanted so I actually ended up making a size S and just used a fractionally smaller seam allowance at the underarms (about 1.2cm instead of 1.5cm) to give a little bit more room around the bust. The finished dress fits nicely around the shoulders and bust, and as you can see there's definitely also plenty of space for my waist and hips.

I made the shorter version of the dress (view A), but lengthened it by 10cm. I would say that the illustration on the pattern envelope is a bit misleading about the length of the shorter version as it makes it look knee length, whereas the photos from Simply Sewing clearly show that it's significantly shorter than that.

The fabric I used here is some Robert Kaufman chambray. It's been sitting in my stash for almost 3 years, which I was able to work out because I won it in a giveaway from Simply Sewing with the jersey that I used to make my first Gable top back in 2016. While it's lovely fabric, I always think that black isn't the best colour on me so it took me a while to decide what to make. Recently I realised (not sure why it took me so long!) that if I used it to make a pinafore, wearing a t-shirt under it would mean that the black wouldn't be directly next to my face so would make it easier to wear. In these photos, I've paired it with my cowl neck Freya top.

If you like the look of this dress, the pattern may not be the easiest to come by being as it's from a magazine released over a year ago, but as I type there are a few listed on ebay so it's definitely not impossible to find.

All in all, I'm very happy to have used this fabric at last. The finished dress isn't the most practical thing I've ever made (in case anyone's wondering, it really isn't the best thing to wear on a breezy beach!). However, it's (unsurprisingly) very comfy and the neutral colour will mean that I can combine it with lots of tops, so hopefully it should get a decent amount of wear. Now I just need to make some plans for some more fabrics in my stash!