Hi everyone! I’m Ruth (@sewroo) and I’m very excited to be showing you my latest make via a guest blog for Sew Sew Sew. I have been sewing for almost 4 years now and it has (like most of us) become an obsession which shows no sign of waning!
The fabric
When Katie asked if I would like to write a blog post for her I knew it would be a tough decision to narrow my fabric choice down to one as she stocks so many beautiful fabrics. However, I already knew I wanted to make an Eloise dress from By Hand London and I knew I wanted it to be a transitional dress to take me into Autumn so that helped me narrow it down to this beautiful Navy With Taupe Polka Dot Viscose. Anyone who follows me on Instagram will know that I have a recent ‘thing’ for polka dots and I love the unusual taupe colour of these. The fabric is very high quality, it has a kind of matt finish to it, so not slippery to work with yet lovely and drapey. The reverse of the fabric is similar to the front with less pure coloured polka dots so you don’t see the pale reverse as you do with some viscoses (viscosii?), yet you are able to easily distinguish between the right and wrong side, which always makes life easier.
The pattern
I’d had the Eloise dress printed out for months when I saw an amazing version on Instagram by whatkaterinasews and it instantly moved to the top of my list. I did my usual insta research and found some reviews that mentioned toile-ing the pattern first and I am used to doing this as I am 5ft 2” and nothing EVER fits me straight out of the packet. This is the first pattern I have ever made two toiles for and I ended up making lots of adjustments (bust dart up, shoulders in, raised arm hole, shortening of bodice and sleeve length) but these are pretty standard for me! I also added 40” on to the waist tie because I like the wrapped-around-twice look. Speaking of the waist tie, I almost left it off as they can sometimes emphasise my Mum tum, however without it I felt that the dropped waist AND the big polka dots were a bit TOO 80’s and I think the waist tie adds more definition.
Details
I couldn’t find the perfect button in my stash and my insta-story had varying opinions so I ended up spending a good half an hour in my local fabric shop standing looking at buttons (which was bliss as the kids were at school so I was completely free!) I initially thought a taupe colour would be good but there wasn’t anything that was perfect so I went with a classy navy one instead and I’m really pleased with the final result. I am also really chuffed with how well my Kylie And The Machine label goes with the dress too!
The finished dress
I am soooo happy with how the dress turned out, it is well worth the time I spent making the two toiles as I am now planning my second.
I am very glad I stuck to the recommended pattern piece for the ruffle as, although it is very fabric hungry, the swish you get when you walk is amazing and the weight of it means the dress hangs really nicely too.
If you’ve got this far thanks for reading and thank you Katie for sending me this beautiful fabric, this dress will get lots of wear this autumn.
** Ruth was given the fabric in exchange for this blog post **