A Floral Anna

Hi All! Today I'm continuing the spring dress theme with a floral Anna. My last Anna was pretty special occasion, so hasn't had a lot of wear, but this one is going to get worn all the time. 

 I found the fabric when shopping with Susan in Sydney last summer (I still haven't used it all up yet) and it's this beautiful buttery soft viscose which I think was $10 for 2 metres. I just love the colours in the print.

Like my last Anna I paired it with a nearly-circle skirt, making it as full as I could with the fabric that I had. I always forget just how much there is to hem with full skirts. For this dress I neatened the neck and arm holes with bias binding, which was slipstitched in place. The hem was machine stitched. Why do dresses typically have quite large hem allowances? Are they better than a 1.5 cm hem allowance? Does it make them hang better?

Although my hair is covering the invisible zip in the centre back seam, it is there! I happened to have the perfect matching zip, also from my trip to Sydney. Love it when that happens. I think I might try my next version without the kimono sleeves, to see what it does to the silhouette. I would like to try the maxi version of the pattern, but I'm not sure how practical it would be.

Thanks very much for reading and to Dad for taking the photos!

Lauren xx