Charlie Dress made with FS All-purpose Evergreen Fs Signature Finish Linen

Shortly after taking on this project, my partner and I made a decision to give up our rent, take our 3 dogs and move across the province, from Cape Town to the Garden Route for three months. I started sewing this dress halfway between packing for the move. All of our stuff had to go into storage (shoutout to my mom who was willing to store our things!). In the meantime, I decided to leave my day job to explore other, more creative avenues, and we were running out of time to see friends and family before the extended work holiday. 

Needless to say, the dress took me about a month to complete as I had to find the time to sew here and there. I completed the majority of the dress before the move, but still had to sew the belt loops, the belt, and add the button at the top. Of course, I overpacked on sewing supplies, so completing the project was not going to be a problem… the car was pretty cramped on the way, not going to lie. 

Charlie Dress made with FS All-purpose Evergreen Fs Signature Finish Linen

When we finally arrived and things settled down I started on the finishing touches of the dress. I ended up keeping only one out of the three remaining elements – the belt! I did add the belt loops, but removed them because the placement was not right for my body, and I was just a little bit too lazy to find the right positioning. Luckily for me, belts tend to sit just fine on me without loops. The belt loop positioning is something you can change very easily, but I recommend you find the right spot before sewing them on. I have also yet to complete the button, because when wearing the Charlie shirt, I almost always wear it open, so I figured that I would add the button at a later stage if I feel the need to.

Charlie Dress made with FS All-purpose Evergreen Fs Signature Finish Linen

If you’ve made the Charlie shirt, you have essentially made the dress as well, and vice versa, since the top half of the pattern is exactly the same. The dress has slits up the sides as well as at the front and back which makes it super comfortable to walk in for the length and width of the skirt. I love the fact that I can just slip this dress on, tie the belt, put on some shoes and head out, and look and feel stunning! The sleeve hole is quite large, so the side of my bra was definitely visible to the world, but if you don’t mind this, or if you don’t mind wearing some kind of undergarment then it’s no biggie. Just like I mentioned in my Charlie Pants and Sleeveless Shirt review, I made an error in choosing the size of this pattern collection. I went for the size 18 instead of 16 because I fall right in between the two, and I think the size 16 would have been better on me. 

The fabric I chose for this one is the EVERGREEN in FS Signature Finish, which is a lovely green, cooler in tone and more saturated than the Dusty Lotus that I used for my Curated By You dress. Even though I have worked with Fabrics-store linen a few times now, I am awestruck each time I open the package. Their linen is really something special. I have actually never come across this quality of linen in South Africa. All of my garments made from FS linen wear beautifully, are quite soft, do not pill easily, washes really well (I do wash my clothing on a delicate wash for longevity) and are a pleasure to wear!