Hello there! It’s been a while since I posted anything here on the blog, so I thought I’d write a little review of a dress I made last month. I was one of the testers for the newly released Orsola dress and skirt pattern by British designers By Hand London.
I used our Rose Garden viscose and made the dress version with the tulip scallop at the front hem.
The dress came together very quickly, and as the dress is a wrap style there are no fiddly zips or buttonholes to deal with, only darts on the front and back bodice pieces. The sleeveless bodice is fully lined and has a gorgeous curve at the back. The viscose was lovely to work with, although I was VERY careful to stay-stitch all of those curves. Plus I made sure I handled the pieces as little as possible to avoid any of them stretching out.
The back bodice on my version drapes beautifully, I think if you want it to sit closer to the body like the images provided by By Hand London then you should use some stay tape to achieve this. I cut a size 12 at the bust and graded to a 14 at the waist and hip (a pretty standard adjustment for me in most patterns) although I probably could have got away with a straight size 12.
Overall I really love this dress, I find it flatters my post-baby shape and is so easy to wear.
Id’ recommend it to advanced beginners (ie have sewn a couple of garments before), although if you’re new to handling a slippery fabric like viscose then I’d recommend sticking to linen or a cotton lawn.
Happy Sewing x
21st June 2017
