There’s nothing like that moment when you realise it’s Saturday morning, and you’ve got an event to go to on Sunday evening,, and you don’t have anything to wear! It was my cousin’s Bat Mitzvah, and the weather guy forecast a sunny 27°C, and as I did a quick little mental walk through my wardrobe, I knew there was only one thing to do – make a dress.
I’m crushing on Tessuti Fabrics lately, in case you hadn’t noticed, and as I browsed through my sewing patterns, looking for the right thing – something quick, elegant, and of course, something I felt would look flattering on me, I stopped at the Sophie pattern.
I’d been eyeing off top version of this pattern for awhile. Even picked out a couple of pieces of lovely Merchant & Mills linen. But then once I saw this hack, I just had to have the dress version of the lovely Sophie, and felt it would be the perfect thing to wear to the party.
I do have a word of warning. When I followed the instructions for creating this neckline, I ended up with my right sides cut on the wrong side, ie. I ended up with a mirror image of one of the pieces, and if you’re not sure you know what I’m talking about, trust me, it was all messed up, and I had to start again. Now, in all fairness, this is probably a function of my misunderstanding the instructions, but I thought I should warn you because, either way, you don’t want to be left with something that doesn’t work out.
Once you get through that bit of fancy topology, it’s plain sailing, and the dress comes together really well. I find Tessuti’s instructions to be very easy to follow, and I like their construction order. It might seem like a leap of faith is required sometimes, but things always turn out just perfect, and I always get a kick out of that sort of thing.
I love the hemline. Great drama to finish off a fabulous clean-line elegant dress that is so versatile, I can definitely wear it work and to play, dress it up or down. I wore it with my small earrings to the Bat Mitzvah, and then accessorised it with this incredibly soft and drapey large scarf that I’d made from a remnant piece of gorgeous silk chiffon to wear to a dinner party with friends on Christmas eve. This is one of my favourite makes. Interesting and relatively easy and quick to make, a well-fitting garment, and I feel fabulous in it. I’m rushing to make more dresses, because I just want to wear this one everywhere!