Size: 8
Alterations: none on the pattern, fitted as I went (read below).
Fabric: cotton lawn from Minerva Crafts, available here.
The project of this month for the Minerva Blogger Network is a little bit special, because we were asked to make some party attire to wear at the Minerva meet up last week. I was quite heart-broken I didn’t get to attend, but making a cute dress helped me get in the party mood.
After spending a long, long time deciding what kind of dress to make for such an event, I decided to go with the Flora dress pattern by By Hand London. I was one of the very few bloggers who was not invited to test this pattern (sigh, why?), but I really liked the design. My kind sponsor, Indie Stitches, provided the pattern for me.
I initially wanted to make the version with the high neckline, but after a muslin, I decided it looked a little too casual for the occasion, so I opted for the faux wrap, which is also more flattering on me.
I cut a size 8 and made no alterations, although once the fashion fabric was sewn, I ended up with a lot of excess fabric around the waist (almost 8cm). It’s one of those mysteries of sewing I just can’t seem to figure out: the muslin fitted almost perfectly; there were about 2cm of ease at the waist, most of which I thought was going to disappear by lining the bodice. I don’t know what happened later, because I took my time cutting, staystitching and stabilizing the neckline… Probably, I just didn’t do a very good job on my muslin, and didn't pay it the attention it needed.
I dunno, but anyway, once the bodice was completely assembled and self-lined, I decided to make it work, grin my teeth and remove the excess from the center back (which is not a very good solution). This means the side seams are now shifted towards the back and the back armholes are a little too deep, but that’s ok.
The second “make-it-work” moment happened when I realised the circle skirt required a 60” wide fabric, and the one I chose wasn’t as wide. Again, I opted for a solution I wouldn’t recommend to anyone and used the fabric on the cross grain. The print is busy enough that it’s not too obvious, and the effect is not too ugly. I really wanted the circle skirt at that point, so I’m kind of glad I cut it anyway. The knife pleats on the front are truly stunning, while I’m not too crazy about the box pleats of the back.
What else? Oh! I installed an invisible zipper! If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know I simply hate this kind of zipper, because while it’s more discreet to the eye, it’s a pain to install and it breaks way too easily for my taste. But I thought it would really look better for this kind of dress, and I’m happy with my choice.
As you might have seen in my sneak peek post, I also made a petticoat to go underneath this dress. I thought a petticoat would play up the vintage feel of this dress and would make it look more elegant for this special occasion, except… I now know that I don’t like the look of petticoats on me, AT ALL! This thing took a lot of time and patience to make, and I must thank Ela of Elochka for giving me a private mini tutorial on its construction; I doubt I’ll ever wear it again, but I’m glad I got to try it on. At least, now I know.
All in all, I’m really happy about this dress and I can’t wait to have a real event to wear it to! If you want to make it for yourself (petticoat included) the kit is available here. To be completely honest, my plan changed after putting the kit together, so I would rather recommend getting the peacock fabric here and the organza for the petticoat here.
