Four more dresses on repeat

Here are four dresses which I've made last month and this - they are all repeats of patterns I've made before.

In order of me making them the first is an Anna Allen Demeter, made with some viscose / linen mix fabric which I bought from Fabric Godmother at the Stitch Festival in London earlier this year.  Nothing much to say about it really, it's quick and easy to sew and wear, although I've put it away for the autumn because it doesn't scream summer to me.  (Unless we were having a serious heatwave in which case I think the terracotta / ochre colours in it would work fine.)

The next finish was another linen Mattea which I've also put away for autumn wear.

Then came a third version of Willow made from two metres of Tana Lawn from stash.  I recut the front and back necklines and front armholes, but it still isn't an ideal fit.  It's better than the first two I made, but I think I need to compare the bodice pieces with other patterns that fit better and recut again.  Not a job for now, I'd rather be sewing other things, but maybe next year.

And finally a Tessuti Felicia - I first made this pattern four years ago.  This is made from seersucker gingham which I bought recently from Abakhan intending to make an ME2016 with it.  However, I then bought a cardigan which is a perfect colour match and would definitely not go over the ME2016's sleeves, so I decided to make it up in this pattern instead (and now have nearly a metre of left over fabric).

I'd already cut out the bodice pieces before I decided to try on the yellow one I'd made back in 2020 when I weighed more than I do now (lockdown baking 😉) and made the decision to cut the bodice a size smaller.  However, the neckline and shoulders had to stay a size M because the size S cutting lines weren't inside the size M ones.  Changing the armholes, side seams and bust darts was straightforward though. 

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out and will be making some more Felicias, although I think I'll probably bind the neckline and armholes rather than face them.

Two Liberty Tana Lawn Know Me ME2016 dresses

I finally succumbed to buying this pattern after seeing so many versions on Instagram of it that I liked - there was a bit of a palaver with the purchase though.  I bought it from Sew Direct earlier in the year and when I took the pattern tissue out of the envelope to lay on the fabric ready to cut out I noticed several of the pieces had bits of printing missing - both grainlines and cutting lines.  I have never had this happen with any pattern I have ever bought over decades of pattern buying.  So I emailed Sew Direct to ask for a replacement and had to wait a while for one to arrive from the USA, because it turned out that all their UK stock had the same problem.

Both are made from 3m lengths of Tana Lawn which I had in my stash.  This wasn't enough fabric to make the skirt supplied with the pattern, so they have two full widths of fabric gathered, and inseam pockets.

The first dress I made was a straight size 14 and it's a bit on the roomy side, although the pattern is so busy that it doesn't really notice.  As well as changing the skirt, I cuffed the sleeves rather than use elastic - I find that elasticated short sleeves don't stay put when I move my arms and that bugs me, so I used the sleeve cuff band from my copy of Fibremood Judy pattern instead and I'm happy with how the sleeves look and feel. 

For the second version I cut a size 12 and didn't bother to line the bodice.  I also cut the neckline a bit lower - partly because I bound it with bias binding so it didn't need a 5/8" seam allowance, but also to actually make it a bit lower - about an inch or so I think.

I love these dresses, partly because the fabric is so gorgeous to sew with and to wear, but also because I love the style.

Venturing in to big puffy sleeves with Judy

Having seen lots of lovely versions of this pattern on Instagram I decided to take the plunge and buy it.  It was a quick and easy sew - I made size S and altered the back of the dress to have the bodice cut in one piece rather than two with button fastening - I didn't want buttons down my back and they weren't necessary for getting the dress on and off, it goes over my head just fine.

The first one took the 2.9m the pattern states is needed for this size - I did move the pieces around a bit to get the colours I wanted where I wanted them.  The fabric is a lovely Lady McElroy lawn which I had in my stash.

The second one is also from stash - 2.65m of yellow chambray.  I cut an XXL skirt to use up the full width of the fabric and cut down on waste, so there was very little fabric left over.

These are lovely dresses for wafting around in on hot days - there just haven't been nearly enough of them this summer unfortunately!

Two green Bardon dresses

This is a quick and easy pattern and it's a great dress for warm days.  The first one I made using some olive green double gauze which I bought in Coupons Merveilles in Montmartre when I visited Paris back in April.  The colour really doesn't show up well in the photo.  It's similar to the double gauze version in this post, although this time I evened out the length of the tiers a bit.

For the second, shorter version I used a triple gauze throw from Ikea (not sure how long the link will work for, it says it's a limited edition).  I can't remember now what I'd actually gone to Ikea to buy, but it wasn't this - I saw it, liked the colour and thought 'I could get a dress out of that', and it ended up in the trolley...  It frayed a lot while I was sewing it, there were dozens of little bits of green thread all over me / the dress / the floor, but I'm hoping that since all the raw edges are either finished with bias binding or overlocked, it won't be shedding any more!  

With hindsight I should have cut the skirt tiers a bit longer to use up all the fabric, instead of now having 30cm of the full width of the fabric left over.  Hey ho 🙂