All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go

April 07, 2020

All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go

In the strange times we currently find ourselves, I didn't think I would find myself making a pretty summer dress in work time, while on lock down, let alone modelling it on a very summery like autumn day complete with heels and makeup.

I had this lovely stretch crepe that was gifted to me by Minerva Crafts, sitting in plain sight while I decided what to make with it. When I chose it, I had envisioned a floaty winter midi skirt to wear with boots and a jumper. When it arrived though, it was heavier than expected and the print was quite large scale and what I had planned, I just wasn't sure would work.

Last weekend, I had a brainwave and decided to make a Tessuti Lois Dress. I am not sure what brought this particular idea on because my previous version was not overly successful. In fact, I only wore it twice despite loving the fabric it was made of! Of course, once an idea is conceived, it is almost impossible to let go of. I love the style lines of Tessuti Lois. It reminds me very much of the patterns that my Grandmother had in her stash from the 1940s. Oh how I wish I had kept some of those! Rather than just rush in this time, I decided to make a muslin of the bodice and size down because my previous version was just too big.

My muslin in the smaller size was actually spot on. The only criticism I had was the depth of the V neck. It hit way too low, exposing a large proportion of my bra. I knew it had to be raised if I had any chance of wearing the dress. To do this, I drew a line parallel to the grainline mark about 6cm long and then reshaped the neckline. I did have to tweak this a little after assembling the dress but it is a solution that worked really well and one I will use again.

I found inserting the zip a challenge. The pattern has you insert the zip into the dart at the side of the dress because the dress has no side seams. The front of the dress wraps around to the back and the back panel runs between the area where the back darts would normally be located. I attempted to stitch the zip in using my sewing machine but the results were very amateur to say the least and I unpicked it and hand stitched it back in. I am still not 100% happy that my front and back bodice seams do not line up but easing the zip insertion so they lined up would make the zip not sit flat, so I just had to accept the lesser of the two evils. How I ended up in this position, I am not too sure! It could be caused by the dart stretching out on one side or my seam allowances on the bodice pieces could be slightly different. I am not going to lose sleep over it because at the end of the day, my zip sits flat and this is the only area that could do with a little improvement. The opposite side is perfection, even if I say so myself!

Both my neckline and the hem of the dress are finished with a cotton poplin bias binding. The pattern doesn't call for a bias binding hem, but I found, especially in this fabric, it sits more neatly than a rolled hem.

To say I am happy with this dress is an understatement! I always intended to try making this pattern up again, so I am thrilled that it worked out for me this time round. It is just a shame I have nowhere currently to wear it!