After a couple of rough months, this summer has brought me immense peace and joy. The weather has helped a lot. I love the heat, especially by the seaside. And I have truly made the most of the heatwave in my sewing room. So here is the last of my summer dresses.

NL6491 pattern review

Unusually for a French seamstress, I am a huge fan of traditional US pattern houses – in particular McCall’s and Vogue (which are both part of the same corporation). However I had never sewn any New Look pattern; andthis first experience was extremely positive.

Pattern description

New Look 6481 is a halter dress with a deep-plunge cleavage; and a gathered skirt attached to the bodice via a belt. The dress is finished either with straps or neck ties and has two skirt length options: knee or ankle length. So four dress options in total – and many more if you decide to hack the pattern of course!

NL6491 pattern positives

There are many thinks I like about this pattern; and appart for not being a great fan of gathered skirts, nothing I strongly dislike

• This style is perfect for a hot summer. It has been my Holy Grail for ages: deeply desired as it is so perfect for the heat; but impossible to find in the right fit for my E-cup… until now! Just before sewing this dress, I actually had a go at a comparable Vogue pattern (V9259) which was a complete failure…

• The fit is extremely good… if you go one to two sizes down! Despite my measurements putting me between 12 and 14 on the enveloppe, I sized down to 10 and the fit was absolutely perfect! (with the help of a FBA, more on this later) This is exactly what I do for all McCall’s, Vogue and Butterick patterns and it works wonders. I measured the waist to check there was enough room (there was). I also made a toile, but more to check the accuracy of my FBA. I changed absolutely nothing else fit-wise.

• This is an extremely easy dress to sew. I had initially read the instructions when I received the pattern. Despite misleading them just before starting sewing, I had no problem putting the dress together. There is no technical difficulty except for the invisible zip at the back.

Changes I made to the initial pattern

I made two changes to the pattern:

• I used a different skirt, namely the one from the greatly acclaimed V9253 dress. This skirt is, in my view, immensely more flattering than a gathered rectangle and requires less work – so there is only upside!

• I made a very easy FBA, but adding 2cm to the curve under the bust point to create more room – something very similar to what I had done for my Lune dress.

Not my best fabric choice…

For this dress, I used a gorgeous navy eyelet cotton fabric with large white embroidered flowers. A feast for the eyes!

On paper, it looks like a good idea for a summer dress: cotton eyelet is lightweight and it breathes. But… effectively, eyelet fabric has to be lined EVERYWHERE, as there are holes in the fabric so it is actually more than see-though… Bottom line: even if you line with the lightest fabric you can find (cotton voile here), the dress ends up rather warm. Arrrghhhh!

Conclusion

Despite my dubious fabric choice, I am enamoured with this dress. I am so pleased to have found such a perfect fit for this style that I am now trying to think of an excuse to sew it for Autumn…. Any ideas welcome!

The summer has been about sewing lightweight cotton dresses for me. But here I have made an exception: let me introduce you to my luxurious silk Lune dress… Well, actually my daughter’s, as this dress suits her colouring much better than mine!

Three very different versions due to different fabric used

This is my third time sewing the Lune dress by French Poetry. Each version is based on exactly the same pattern pieces, with the tiny exception of the shoulders ties I added for this last one. However the three dresses look extremely different, don’t you think?

The style you give to this dress all comes down to the fabric you use in my view.

My first version is in cotton chambray. Although there is some drape in this fabric, it stiffness makes it look actually quite formal; very much occasion-wear if it were for the colour

My second version is a floral Liberty-like cotton lawn, very lightweight. It does not drape as much and the style is more country-chic / afternoon tea. Probably my least preferred at all but the most comfortable in the heat.

And this last version is in the most gorgeous silk crepe from the New Craft House. This is the absolute perfect match with this dress, with just enough weight and drape to make it stunning, especially in movement.

Lune dress pattern review

My first two versions of this pattern were sewn as part of my ”Resort Collection” this winter. And I briefly reviewed the pattern in this article.

Just to summarise:

• Size and fit: I cut a size 38 (I am a UK 8/ FR 36/ US 2) and made an FBA (for my E cup) following the designer’s recommendation here; and it worked wonders! Since I bought the pattern, cup options have been added so that should make life much easier. The dress is now my daughter’s, who is actually one size bigger than me, but with a slightly smaller breast cup. 
• Changes I made to the pattern: Nothing except for an FBA.
• What I like in this pattern: the shape if beautiful, with its very pretty deep-plunge but bra-compatible neckline; and its fitted waist. The fit is excellent. And this is a very easy make, with a limited number of pattern pieces and extremely clear instructions. After my very positive experience of the Libra bodysuit, I am becoming a big fan of the French Poetry patterns. 
• What I dislike about this pattern: not much except that the fabric indications are far too much – I used close to 2m for this dress rather than the 4m indicated.
• Love factor: I really like this pattern – as you have probably guessed since it is my third version!

Conclusion

I am absolutely thrilled about this version of the Lune dress… and a bit disappointed that I cannot wear it myself (the colours truly look horrendous on me, not sure what I was expecting). But I made a very happy girl and that’s all that matters!

I have been obsessed with Zimmermann tiered ruffled skirts for a long time. It took me ages to figure out how to reproduce them (let’s call it snail brain); and even longer to be motivated enough for all this gathering. But here we are, finally!

Zimmermann ruffles inspiration

If you are anything like me and follow Zimmermann’s collections in awe, you will know that ruffles are their key signature. And what ruffles!

After fantasising for ages, I actually ordered a Zimmermann dress to try on… and realised two things:

• These over-the-top ruffles are DEFINITELY NOT wearable on a day-to-day basis!
• Zimmermann’s sizing is tiny for bodices – I suspect a small B cup is the most you could fit in there. No chance for me!

So I promptly returned the dress and started my long thinking process on how to self-draft my own tiered ruffle skirt.

Tiered ruffle skirt tutorial

I haven’t taken picture of the sewing process, so you will have to take my work for it… and accept off-the-enveloppe charts, sorry! The tutorial is far less detailed than my previous ones so definitely targeted at intermediate seamstresses rather than beginners, sorry.

But first let’s have a closer look at the skirt.

STEP 1: Choosing your skirt length and the number of ruffles

My skirt has four panels and is 1m-long, basically exact floor length for me. It means I can only wear it with hight heels but that was the plan.

To determine the length, I measured from the narrowest part of my waist to where I wanted it to reach.

And to determine the number of ruffles, I must admit I was limited by my fabric – I would definitely have preferred 5, as I think odd numbers are always better for these things. I took progress pictures of my skirt and I admit I really liked the 3-tiered midi one.

STEP 2: Drafting the skirt

The skirt is made of:

• a top layer, which are the ruffles. I used 6m of eyelet fabric from Les Coupons de Saint Pierre with a scalloped border, but you will need closer to 3m if you are working without borders. And even less if you go for a shorter skirt.
• a bottom layer, which is the underskirt the ruffles are attached to. I used about 1 m of voile cotton in a colour matching my eyelet fabric.

And here is the beautiful, very professional looking drawing of my skirt draft – no shame!

STEP 3: Sewing the skirt

• Create your belt: interface the lining fabric, attach lining and main fabric together, fold in half with main fabric out.
• First skirt: on main fabric, hem small sides turning each 0.5cm twice; hem main fabric on large side if needed (ie no scalloped edge); attach lining and main fabric together on large top side (main fabric will need to be kept free of lining at the back so that zip if only attached to lining); gather to belt width and attach to belt.
• Insert zip: from top of belt to bottom of first skirt lining, insert invisible zip. It should not catch the main fabric layer.
• Subsequent skirts: hem main fabric on one large side if needed; gather main fabric to width of its lining and join together at the top; attach to the previous layer lining.
• Last skirt: no lining here! Hem main fabric on one large side if needed; gather main fabric large top side to previous layer lining width and attach the previous layer lining.

Appart from the boredom of all the gathering, the trickiest part is the zip insertion. The zip mustn’t catch the main fabric ruffle, so that it can float freely. Here is a picture at what it looks like on my skirt. You will notice I have end-sewn the end of my top ruffle where the zipper finishes, so that it stays in place.

And you’re done! Hurrah!

Adding a Glory Top to make it a matching set

As you know, I much prefer dresses to skirts, but here I was worried the weight of the skirt would be too much for a bodice to bear. So instead of sewing a dress, I made a matching set, using the Top Glory by Clematisse patterns

I adore this top, it is super cute and immensely easy top to sew. I made three tiny changes to the pattern: I shortened quite substantially as my skirt is high-waisted; I made an FBA; and I lined it. I think overall less than a 2-hour job, how nice is that.

Conclusion

I will not be wearing this set immensely as with such a long skirt, it is more of an evening outfit. But I am over the moon to have finally managed to draft a tiered ruffle skirt!

I warned you: I was so enamoured with my summer version of the M8211 pattern in a beautiful cotton voile from Croft Mill that I have to sew another version. Here it is, same pattern, same fabric shop, why change a winning team?

M8211 review: nothing to add I’m afraid…

This is my fourth version of this pattern over the past dew months. I reviewed it extensively in this article, so I don’t think there is much to add. (Just click on the pictures for links to the blog articles.)

I very much like both the puff sleeve and the sleeveless versions of this patterns: they are well drafted, easy to sew and fit well. You can use a variety of fabrics: my puff sleeves versions are cotton poplin, while the sleeveless versions are cotton voile and viscose. The only negative is that sizing is quite large, but nothing to difficult to adjust when installing the back zipper.

After several versions, I have also come to realise than I am not a huge fan of the skirts on offer. Better draft your own, like I did with my ankle-length tiered version, which is by far my favourite.

Fabric: my first time sewing viscose

The fabric I used for this dress is a viscose challis from Croft Mill, kindly gifted to me as part of their Ambassador programme. I absolutely adore the delicate watercolour print, perfectly within my summer palette. But if you are keen on something different, Croft Mill stocks a very wide range as part of their ”Festival” collection – I absolutely adore this one for Autumn.

I had never experience sewing viscose fabric – for an obscure reason I thought it was a synthetic fibre, while it is not (it is made of wood pulp). My conclusions are the following:

• Viscose challis is very easy to sew: it does not slip like polyester satin; not does it lose its shape like silk.
• It drapes incredibly well, no comparison to cotton here – much more comparable to silk satin.
• It breathes, so absolutely perfect for the summer.
• BUT… it creases a lot when worn, beware!!!

Conclusion: an interesting experience

I was happy to be slightly pushed out of my comfort zone and encouraged to sew with a different material. However I think I am likely to stick with my preference for cotton, silk and wool, I just cannot handle creases!!