Red Floral Anna

Hello all! This viscose floral reminded me of 40s tea dresses and this is my modern interpretation of that. I decided that it was high time that I made the By Hand London Anna dress in its original design. I've paired the bodice with half circle skirts twice before and this time I wanted to try it with it's original less-full gored skirt.

 Construction went pretty smoothly, although the hips needed taking in a bit. All the seams were overlocked, the neckline and armholes were finished with self-fabric bias binding with a slip-stitch. I'm still a bit slow, but practice makes perfect! I used a matching red invisible zip for the centre back. I've found that the trick is to sew each side twice to get as close as possible to the zipper teeth.

It's the first fabric that I've come across that I could describe as spongy, although a good iron squashes it down. As a viscose it does crease fairly easily, but it feels nice against the skin and drapes beautifully. The seams were quite tricky to match up with such a shifty fabric, so I settled for a 0.3mm margin of error.

I decided on a 3 inch hem so it would hang nicely, and I think it's the perfect length for me. Long enough to feel elegant, and short enough to feel modern. I was worried that the silhouette wouldn't suit, but I love it. This is just such an elegant dress!

Thanks for reading, to Minerva crafts for providing the kit for this make and Edward for taking photos!

Lauren xx