Hello all! Today I have to show you the summer dress of summer dresses: my border print
Holly dress. I don't wear a lot of green, but I've been consciously trying to change that. When I saw this fabric in one of the department stores in Hamburg in the Easter holidays, 2m for £10 I had to snap it up.
I knew that it had to be a dress with a full, gathered skirt to fully show off the border print but I had a couple of different options for the bodice. I ended up choosing the cowl neck bodice from the
By Hand London Holly jumpsuit pattern. It was a good choice, because I think it goes so well with a gathered skirt!
The skirt is cut on the cross-grain so I could display the border print properly. The border print was on both sides of the fabric so I just cut straight down the middle. The skirt is longer than I usually go for, but it's a very elegant length. I like it.
The bodice was slightly sheer, so I decided to line it with a white cotton. As to not disrupt the cowl, I pleated the cowl as marked in the front bodice in the fashion fabric, and then cut around that for the lining piece, so it lies flat. The back pieces are exactly the same as the fashion fabric. Using the darker part of the fabric for the straps was a good plan. I love the contrast.
I didn't make a mock up, and the sides ended up being taken in quite a bit, but other than that I'm quite happy with the fit. The top of the bodice gapes a bit, so next time I'd probably place the strap slightly towards the centre on each side. I do really like this dress, and it's a shame that the weather hasn't been nicer so I could wear it more.
Thanks so much for reading and to Ed for taking the pictures!
Lauren xx
