I’m am 100% smitten with By Hand London’s Anna dress pattern.
I know I was supposed to focus once again on my older, languishing projects. How could I not make up the Anna dress as soon as I got the pattern in the mail. Sewing is all about fun, yea?! :D
I bought this hot pink (not red… but a cranberry pink) silk blend fabric when I was at Vogue fabrics a bit ago. I got the last of what was on a roll, not knowing what I was going to make with it. It’s a mega hodge-podge blend. I do know it has silk on it, but beyond that I can only guess; the fabric is supple, drapey, and spongy with some stretch to it. Like I said, mega blend. But it makes one great feeling garment.
So… guess what peeps??? I didn’t make any alterations whatsoever to this dress. I made a muslin first and it fit 100%. Well, mostly… I lengthened the bodice by 3/8″… but I actually wish I hadn’t since it’s now about 1/2″ too long. The weight of the skirt pulls the bodice down a tiny bit which I wasn’t counting on. Seriously! This is the first time ever that I haven’t had to make any alterations. No shortening of the bodice, no reducing the shoulder width, no redrafting curves, nada!
I did an invisible hem on the dress, but you can totally see it on the right side. I’m gonna blame that on the spongy fabric.
The length of this is my own doing. I didn’t cut the middy length nor the full length. Since I’m such a shortie, I lengthened the middy length by 2″ but also have a 1.25″ hem here. I wanted the length to be a bit in between middy & full for a bit of a dressier dress.
The lines in the bodice are from my slip underneath. *Blegh* Plus, I don’t know why I look so sassy here. heh
This dress made me feel so feminine with it’s figure-flattering, curve-hugging silhouette with a bit of swish in the skirt. It would be the perfect LBD pattern.
I used french seams on a few seams of the skirt, but for the side seams I did a plain seam with serged ends just in case I had to alter this now or in the future. It closes with an invisible zipper which I hadn’t done in some time. But it went in like a piece of cake (since I always-always baste silk organza into the back seam for stabilization.)
The neckline is finished with a facing, which I wish I stitched on after I added the center back zip. The wonderful thing about the neckline facing is that it extends a bit into the shoulder. Doing so, it provided me with a bit more shoulder structure that I love without the addition of shoulder pads.
What else can I say about this pattern?! I’m going to make more. So many more! This is a pattern that can take on so many looks with it’s two different necklines and hem lengths, not to mention the various fabric selections. I would already have cut another one out but sadly, I don’t have any suitable fabric in my stash for another. It’s sad when you have a closet full of fabrics but none of them will work for what you want to make. :( heh
Highly, highly recommend this pattern to any gal who wants to show off some curves in a timeless silhouette.
In: Sewing
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