Meet the Periwinkle Shirtdress, our April Pattern for Crew!

Spring is FINALLY here and we're celebrating with our latest pattern for Crew (our monthly pattern + sewing membership). The Periwinkle Shirt + Shirtdress is the perfect way to celebrate a new season. An approachable shirt-making project (no need to worry about tricky collars or plackets) with lots of pretty details, we think it's destined for TNT status. Join Crew starting at $10 USD a month to get it!

The Design

Periwinkle is breezy and sleeveless with a loose, unstructured fit and dropped shoulder. It features a softly rounded band collar, gentle gathers around the neckline, and a classic button placket. In the back, delicate gathers are sewn into the yoke using the burrito method for a clean finish.

To give you options, Periwinkle can be made as a top or dress. The top ends at high hip, and we love it in crisper fabrics like poplin, voile, batiste and other shirtings. It's the perfect "half-tuck" top.

The shirtdress is midi-length (though can it be easily lengthened or shortened for different looks) and features slits along the side seams for both ease of movement and a flash of skin; inseam pockets are optional for those of you who are #teampockets. It's also accompanied by an optional tie belt if you prefer a more fitted look - we're kind of obsessed with how different this pattern looks with and without the belt!

Speaking from personal experience, I brought the dress and belt on a recent vacation and wore it almost every day. On super hot days when I didn't want anything touching me, I wore it loose and free with sandals. I belted it at night with a pair of wedges for a dinner-appropriate look. I also threw it in my bag whenever we went to the beach in case I started getting too much sun. It's my favourite kind of "simple" pattern - deceptively multi-functional!

Periwinkle is available as a PDF pattern in both our 0-20 and 14-32 size ranges - you get both with your monthly download!

Suggested Fabrics

Periwinkle works with a wide variety of light to midweight fabrics. For something crisp and breezy, choose shirtings like poplin and broadcloth, or lightweight cottons like voile and batiste. Linen is ideal - we love it in the midweight linen from Core Fabrics, but it would also be fabulous in a linen gauze or handkerchief weight. For a slinkier, swishier look, go for drapey wovens like viscose crepe, rayon de challis, and silk crepe de chine. Since the silhouette is simple, it's a gorgeous canvas for overscale prints, and we've got loads in stock.

If you're eyeing any of the samples we made, just like each month with Crew, Core Fabrics has created fabric kits to recreate them yourself! We've also curated a collection of additional fabrics and supplies that work with this pattern to make it easy to find what you'll need.

How to Get Periwinkle

Like all Crew patterns, Periwinkle is only available when you sign up for Crew! Subscribe at the monthly level with Essential or Plus to get it (you can cancel at any time), or sign up for our annual Unlimited plan and get Perwinkle along with the other 3 Crew patterns we've released this year so far, plus 11 more months of patterns!

(Please note that if you are signing up after April 2023, you'll only be able to access Periwinkle at the Unlimited level).

This Month in Crew

With a Crew membership, you get access to so much more than just a pattern. Each month, we curate a theme page with an inspiration board and curated resources to help you assemble your pattern. You also get access to our private forum, whether you're looking for fitting or sewing help, or just want to chat about sewing with like-minded folks.

Our Plus and Unlimited members also get access to an in-depth video sewing lesson with me. This month I'm teaching you how to sew a *perfect* band collar. The fiddliest element to sew on this pattern, band collars can be tricky to get right, so I'll walk you through all the tricks we use to get it laying flat and even with the prettiest topstitching - it's the kind of attention to detail that takes it from hand-made to holy-cow.

You'll also be able to join (or watch at a later time) our monthly live event. This month we're discussing body-positive sewing with our very own body-posi education coordinator Monserratt. We're excited to talk about how we can use our sewing practice to build a better relationship with our bodies, regardless of your size.

We're so excited to see what you do with #ClosetCorePerwinkle! Join today to get sewing!