The Penny Dress is my go-to dress for the summer- it's elegant, relaxed, cool and fun! 

I've made three versions of the Penny Dress now, this one is my most recent and most worn!  I made it out of the beautiful cotton sateen we've called 'Kirsty' after Kirsty Alsopp bought three meters of it from us last year at The Handmade Fair (we re-stocked as it was so popular!)

I made a straight size 14, my bust size is 38" which is right between the sizes.  As the bodice is loose fitting, I figured i could get away with it. 

This fabric is beautiful to sew with - cotton sateen is so soft and silky!  And it's perfect for  the hot weather because it breaths and floats so nicely. It also makes me feel so fancy, perfect for evening drinks!

The pattern says the Penny Dress required 3.5m of wide fabric, which I didn't have!  So I figured out a way to 'hack' it ever so slightly to fit it out of less fabric - and to add all important pockets!

Instead of cutting the skirt out on the fold, making one big circle skirt, I cut the skirt as two half circles.  It's a simple change, but it means you can get the whole pattern out of 2.25m, AND add pockets in to the side seams that get created.

Have you made the Penny Dress?