You can never have too many vintage style summer dresses. That must be the reason why every new warm season I add at least one new design to my wardrobe!

I've always been more keen on sewing with cotton poplin. I liked it because most of the time it doesn't require any lining which is perfect for a summer dress. But the problem with cotton poplin is that usually it's designed for quilting, not dressmaking. I don't think it affects the quality, but it does mean that you need much more fabric due to the small width length of quilting materials. On top of it, many of the great brands focus on creating a wide range of cotton lawn, not poplin. Lady McElroy, Liberty London, Storrs London...The list goes on! 

After sewing my Lady McElroy peachy Butterick 5209 dress, I stopped skipping cotton lawn. On top of it, I got so attached to the silky texture which is so different to poplins! 

When I saw a wide range of Storrs London cotton lawns on Minerva I obviously couldn't resist. I can easily imagine myself sewing a dress with pretty much any of them, but since I really like all shades of Purple on an Ivory background, I picked this fabric. It's very fine and thin, quite opaque (especially in the sunshine) and so silky smooth to the touch! The colours are very bright and the general quality of the fabric is fantastic. It honestly can't be any better for a cotton lawn.

As for the pattern, I picked a 50s vintage reproduction from Burda Style. I really wanted something with ruffles and a full gathered skirt. It felt like the perfect choice for such a light, airy and drapey fabric. 

I didn't change much in the pattern size 34. Just the typical Burda Style adjustments - altered the back pieces since they're always too wide for me, and used my own full circle skirt pattern (simply to save some time on tracing the original one from the magazine). I also made the neckline ruffle a bit wider to get the most out of it. And, of course, the zipper is in the central seam to step into the dress, not pull it over. I paired my cotton lawn with some cotton voile as a lining. 

Because the fabrics are quite thin and that's a close-fitted dress, I interfaced all of the seams (including the zipper one and darts) with some iron-on tape and I also added a fabric belt with a fabric-covered buckle. One of my favourite details to complete the look!