My Dotty Dolly Dress

Look! I made an Anna Dress for the Sew Dolly Clackett Sewalong! It's clearly one of Roisin's favourite patterns as she's made quite a few and they're all wonderful! I particularly like her red and white polka dot number so decided to go dotty with mine too.

I used a green and white polka dot cotton and lined it with white bemsilk lining. I'm usually pretty lazy when it comes to lining but my fabric was a little sheer in the light so I thought it would be better to do so.

Speaking of going dotty, I was a bit careless when it came to cutting out. There I was merrily cutting away when I realised I'd forgotten the bodice back piece and I ran out of fabric - doh! Luckily I had just enough scraps to piece something together and I reckon I got away with it.  Note to self: check all pattern pieces fit onto the fabric before taking scissors to hand!

This is my first By Hand London pattern and it's a winner! They have some great instructions on their website from their sewalong if you need a bit of extra help, though I did find the lining to be really fiddly. This was also my first time inserting an invisible zipper - woohoo! The Anna tutorial came in really handy for this and I used the Colette Handbook for guidance too, I find it's helpful to use a couple of different tutorials sometimes as everyone has a different way of explaining things.

I made a size 8/12 with only a couple of adjustments: I shortened the bodice 2cm which is usual for me though in retrospect I didn't need to and maybe the waist sits a little too high now. There was a bit of gaping in the front neckline so I checked out Sonja's back neckline adjustment and applied it to the front and it worked a treat. That was all the adjusting I needed to do apart from shortening the length.

I love the kimono sleeves and the pleats under the bust, I think it's a really flattering style. Without the lining (and my fabric shortage mishap), this dress would come together really quickly and I'll definitely be making another one soon. I'd like to try the boat neck version next.

So if you haven't made an Anna dress already, I highly recommend heading over to By Hand London and picking yourself up a copy of the pattern.

You probably already know about their Kickstarter funding project which will enable them to custom print fabric. There's only 6 days to go and they've nearly reached their target so don't forget to pledge your support and help the girls get this fantastic project up and running. Imagine being able to design and print your own fabric on demand - how awesome would that be?