Showing posts with label By Hand London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By Hand London. Show all posts

Monday, April 28, 2014

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!