Shirt Dress Love – The Naomi Shirt

I could live in shirt dresses forever. Particularly loose ones have a special place in my heart so when I saw the cool construction the Naomi shirt pattern offered, all I could see was a shirt dress. So as I usually do, I hacked it to achieve my desired look. I hack patterns for many reasons. This time, considering self-isolation and working from home for the next few months, one piece garments tend to be easier to reach for than separates.

Pattern Details – The Naomi Shirt by Coffee and Thread Patterns. Sizes offered are from 0-22 (i.e Bust 30-50” and Hips 33-54”). It is described as a relaxed-fitting raglan shirt with unusual seam details that elevate the everyday shirt to a one-of-a-kind design. It features a collar and slightly puffed sleeves.

Pattern size – I made a size 14 graded to 16 at the hips. My measurements are bust 40”, waist 34”, hips 45”

Adjustments – The main adjustment I made was to lengthen the shirt by about 9 inches to make a shirt dress instead of a shirt. This pattern is originally a shirt pattern but can easily be tweaked. I made the short sleeve version and made no adjustments to the sleeve.

It is important to note that this pattern does not come with a lengthen/shorten line so I decided to lengthen the pattern from the hem. You can choose to draw the lengthen/shorten line and adjust from there.

My favorite part about this pattern is the construction. I think it is pretty cool that the sleeve is creates the front and back yoke when sewn together. It’s such unique details like this that make me want to try one pattern over the other.

Overall, this is a great pattern for intermediate sewers and beyond. It may be slightly challenging for beginners but hopefully the instructions will help guide you through the steps. Also, if you chose to hack a shirt with buttons, brace yourself for a lot of buttonholes/buttons.

Happy Sewing,

Sylvia