Is there anything like a dress pattern crush? – all seamstresses will reply in unison « of course« !!! Anyway that’s exactly what I felt when I first saw McCall’s M7995 dress, released as part of their last A/W collection – too quirky for a long-term relationship, but definitely too attractive not to make one!

My crush was made even worse when I saw Zoubi Zoubisou’s version on Instagram. The fabric contrast was such a genius idea, I had to have the same!!!

After a couple of months looking for the appropriate fabric, I actually… found it in my stash! Do you remember this dress? – I never posted specifically about it but it was part of my brocart frenzy 18 months ago...

I had a bit left of this beautiful brocart for the body of the dress (you need very little if you’re not adding the sleeves, something like 70cm!); and I miraculously found a matching shiny pink crepe on the Croftmill website, for the bottom ruffle and the bow (I bought 1m) – we had a deal!

Based on the finished measurements of the bust indicated on the enveloppe, I cut a size S, which seem fine even with my E-cup – but I stupidly lowered the sleeve opening by 1.5cm, which I always do with McCall patterns but shouldn’t have done with this one – oh well.

I had a bit of a struggle with the instructions for the collar, in particular about where you should leave an opening to slip-in the back and front of the dress when you link collar and body. To avoid that, I strongly suggest you write this down on your pattern before cutting and sewing.

This dress is definitely a winter and mid-season piece for me, so I layer it with my beloved M&S thermals and opaque tights; and it is – obviously – fully lined! Here is how I did it:

1/ I cut the two body pieces of the dress both in the main fabric and in the lining fabric.

2/ I then sew both the main fabric dress and the lining dress by the sides – ending-up with two bodies.

3/ I attached the two by the armhole openings; trimmed the sewing allowance at the curves; and overstitched it to the lining fabric, so that it would not show from the outside.

And that’s it! I’m very pleased with this little number and I am now thinking about a summer version in fine cotton… Typical!

My 2020 sewing year was a bit strange. It started strong will my first-ever attempt at planning; got interrupted by a last-minute decision to spend the first lock-down in France, where I had a sewing machine but neither fabric nor patterns; got completely crazy in the summer when I managed to get my supplies back together; and resumed to somewhat of normality in the last part of the year.

In any case here are my favourite projects of the year – dresses, dresses and more dresses I’m afraid:

Here are all the sewing projects I completed over 2020 (not all posted on the blog I’m afraid – this is my big resolution for 2021!); in chronological rather than preference order.

Early 2020

V9327 in suiting wool (fully lined), sewn in January but shot in december – Covid got in between… This was my second time sewing this pattern which I really like for winter, I had reviewed the first version here.

More (fully lined) suiting wool for winter and a first go at my new embroidery machine. I only had 2m of fabric so I only managed to fit the skirt of V9327 and the Named Clothing’s Lexi Top.

My first attempt at replicating a dress I saw in a shop with M7978 – I made a FBA but sadly not large enough so the bodice is a bit tight. All rectified in my second version (more on this one later).

And a completely unplanned funky M7995, for which I made the big mistake of not doing an FBA and which I never wear. We live to learn…

And then we escaped to France and my sewing had to stop for a few months… It was really tough!

Summer 2020: hugely productive

To compensate for my non-existent spring sewing, summer was hugely productive. Instead of being in London, we spent March to August by the seaside in France, so my sewing adapted to the much warmer weather.

I really enjoyed sewing different versions of similar patterns which had been waiting in my stash for a while.

First was V9253, sewn in blue and pink:

Second was M7952, sewn in blue stripes and white broderie anglaise:

Third was the Cassandre dress pattern, which I extensively used as a basis for several dresses:

Fourth was the M7958 top, here as well used several times.

And fifth was my self-drafted shirred dress, sewn in coral broderie anglaise and navy silk this summer, and for which I produced a free tutorial.

Late 2020: more planning, more variety

Back in London in September, I was craving more organisation in my sewing, so I wrote down my Autumn sewing plan – which I am proud to say I mostly followed. This resulted is a bit more variety is my sewing – although dresses remain my favourite by far.

So I started with two Pascal shorts...

… two M8048 coats…

… two box-pleated midi skirts with a full tutorial:

And then more dresses I’m afraid, it is the main thing I wear, especially now that I can knit matching cardigans!!!

So two new versions of M7081 (respectively my fifth and sixth)…

… a new velvet Magnolia (my fifth):

… and two silk dresses , a dotted coral M7978 and a “camouflage” Dior fabric V9327 – both in the most delicate (and for the Dior one expensive) fabric which I took most care of! Definitely my biggest technical challenges of the year!

Conclusion: not the most challenging but still a very happy sewing year

2020 was definitely not a year of huge sewing challenges (except for my three silk dresses), as I was definitely more focused on learning to knit properly from a pattern. But I still had a lot of fun and produced many garments I wear regularly, so I am very happy – and that’s the all point, isn’t it?