Here’s Simplicity 6894 again, in the better red than dead edition:

I really love the IDEA of this particular dress, but the actual instantiation of it is problematic. Mostly because this fabric wrinkles like a Shar-Pei. It took all my weight on the iron to get it as smooth as it is in these photos:

The pleats turned out well, though, didn’t they?

And the side zip?

More evidence of the essentially wrinkly nature of this dress:

And the back:

I’d like to make this dress over again but I’m thinking I should go more Classic Villager and do it in some teeny tiny prints. I just bought some Japanese Liberty from Jones and Vandermeer (on sale!) that might be a good candidate for this pattern … or maybe in red again, so I can salvage those buttons, but something not so crinkly. Thoughts?