I didn’t intend this Liberty fabric I bought just before Christmas to become a hack of the By Hand London Flora pattern, or indeed a top at all. But, after making (and failing badly at) a pleated skirt using the fabric, I decided I had enough fabric left to eke out a top from it. And I’m glad I did.
Sometime last year I had an idea to make a looser fitted dress, with a lower, almost drop waisted dress. So I took to Pinterest as usual for my inspiration. I found the loveliest navy polka dot fabric at Walthamstow market and I already had some contrasting polka dot fabric that I could use as lining. It didn’t quite turn out as I expected but it’s great to wear on a Saturday afternoon when you’re lounging around the house.
It feels like ages since I made the green Vogue V1102 dress, especially as I’ve made a few more since then. I had some leftover fabric from the make, and I thought perhaps I could eke out a separate dress from it. It did take a bit of manoeuvring but I got there in the end. Continue Reading…
I haven’t done any sewing for a few weeks now, what with being in London for work and all, but I did make this beautiful (if I do say so myself) dress before I went. I don’t really know what to say about this dress, except that it’s another Emery pattern, in a Liberty Strawberry Thief print. I really love my Liberty print!
Despite making quite a few of these dresses now, this Emery still turned out differently, even though I followed the same instructions. I’m not sure whether I was a little bit tighter with the seam allowances but this one was bigger in the waist and bodice than any of my previous attempts. Hmmmm.
I’m also a massive fan of the length of the Emery dress, but the last one was just a little bit too long. So I shortened this one quite a bit and now the length is perfect for me.
I loved working with the Strawberry Thief fabric and I loved that it had quite a straight print as it made me really take notice of how I cut it and of making each part match up. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.
The only thing that’s slightly annoying me is that I made a facing for the neckline. Although I love facings generally, this one seems a bit bulky in the front and needs pressing down. My initial plan for this dress was to make matching bias binding for the neckline and arms, but I cut out the facing before remembering my plan and didn’t really want the beautiful fabric to go to waste. I think, in the future, I may take it out and try the bias binding option.
Like the other Liberty fabric, this one too is very thin but I’m sure I’ll get a lot of wear out of this dress. Plus, it’s Strawberry Thief! Who doesn’t like birds picking fruit from a tree on their clothes?
I’m currently sewing up my first Anna dress for White Tree Fabrics. It’s not a style I particularly wanted to make when it first came out to be honest (I always preferred the Elisalex), but the pattern has definitely grown on me and I’m excited to sew it up now. I have some lovely Tilda fabric* and I plan on making the shorter version. Perhaps I’ll even make the maxi version for the summer.
The Anna dress has recently moved up my to-do list, purely because I’ve seen a few really great versions online lately (most recently Roisin’s version). So, having taken to Pinterest, I’ve chosen a few, really inspiring, Anna’s. Maybe they’ll even inspire you too. Please click through for links to the original pins and blog posts. All images are courtesy of the bloggers, of course.
1. Anna from Paunnet‘s beautiful navy blue Anna dress
2. This lovely graphic print maxi version
3. Jenny’s two-tone Anna dress
4. And finally, Roisin‘s floral number
I’d love to see more of your Anna dresses, so send links this way please. In the meantime I’ll let you know how I get on with mine.
*Given to me by White Tree Fabrics as part of their blog team