By Hand London Anna maxi dress

Why, yes. I am the last blogger on the planet to sew By Hand London's Anna. What made me wait so long??

I bought the pattern last year, very soon after it came out. I traced it and even did the alterations. I had the fabric ready, but I kept getting distracted by other things, and before I knew it, it was too cold and I wanted to sew pants and long sleeve tops and coats. So, Anna had to wait.

I think she was worth waiting for though. This is really a lovely, graceful dress.

I made the maxi, of course. I love a long, swirly dress. Makes me feel like a princess, even when I'm chasing my kids. The neckline is basically the v neck, but I rounded out the bottom, so it scoops.

I did add pockets in the side seams. Chasing kids and life in general requires pockets. I also made some fit changes, but I cannot for the life of me recall them all. Most critical was to add some darts to the back neckline. As many other sewists experienced, the neckline gaped quite a lot.

Adding the darts took care of the problem though and I really like the fit through the back. It is a bit less fitted than I typically like my dresses, but I wanted this to be a comfy, casual lounging sort of thing, so it works.

The fabric I used is a rayon challis from Fabric.com. I love how swirly it this skirt is in this fabric! I also lined the bodice with batiste, rather than using the pattern's facings. The batiste is nice and cool, and I prefer the finish of a lining. I left the skirt unlined though. The better to swirl with, my dear.

I do think the skirt is a smidge too long. I hemmed it while wearing platforms, but it's not really a platform sort of dress. I took off 2 inches when I hemmed, and think I could probably take off another inch. Petite sewists, be aware. This skirt is drafted long! Long and fabulous!