Alice sent us this photo of her brilliant royal blue lightweight linen dress made using the skirt from the Merchant and Mills Etta Dress (altered a bit to make it more youthful)
Royal Blue Linen Hacked M&M Dress
Tag: Dress
White spotty silk georgette full circle skirted dress
Lizzy made this exquisite silk georgette dress for a gala dinner in Trentham Gardens, the pattern is from the Butda magazines – November 2019 design 133, the fabric is a sheer silk georgette 12340 on our website, lined in silk dupion for the bodice, and our premium breathable Venezia lining for the skirt. The skirts are a full circle which made the hems 8.2m, and there’s three of them so needless to say the hemming took a while!
The sash is double sided velvet ribbon
Worsted Wool Long Pinafore Dress
Lucy did that dressmaker superpower thing of combining two patterns to make something greater than the sum of its parts. The top of this fabulous worsted wool pinafore is Vogue V7975 pattern with Simplicity 2247 for the skirt. The top was also modified so the middle of the front part of the top consist of two pieces which overlap. It’s like “double breasted”. It’s fully lined. She spent some time to make it right. For the skirt Lucy needed to make adjustments to match up the seams of the panels to the top.
This worsted wool is super fine and has a wonderful drape, making a pinafore dress is perfect as it means it spends far less time at the cleaners.
Simplicity 9222 Jersey Dress
Teresa made this fabulous flared jersey dress with a digitally printed lightweight viscose jersey and we adore it. Such a lovely cut and drape. Tencel Jersey and Modal Jersey would work in a similar way for this dress.
Multicolour Dappled Spot Stevie Dress
Suzanne made this fabulous spotty viscose up in the Sew La di da Stevie Dress pattern for her daughter in law (for Christmas – Shhhh!) – What a fabulous MIL she is! This fine Viscose lawn is perfect for dresses with frills and ruffles and those bell sleeves look perfect ❤️
Sparkly Zigzag Knit Dess
Jacoba made this fabulous sparkly zigzag printed jersey dress for the orchestra and no one could believe she made it. This is a poly jersey with fabulous drape so putting it on the bias for the skirt makes it super-christmassy drapey. We love.
The Pattern is Vogue 1907 version B
Floral Cotton Jersey Maker’s Atelier Wrap Dress
Suzanne chose this digital print floral cotton jersey for her Maker’s Atelier wrap dress and she says it’s a dream to sew (music to our ears!).
Leaf Print Linen and Viscose Maxi Shift Dress
Lynn looking fabulous in her green and brown leaf print linen and viscose blend maxi shift dress. The pattern has been adjusted to account for Lynn’s tall (6’+) frame. This is an ace pattern that will work well in medium weight fabrics like linen and linen mixes. There is a centre front seam in this dress so choose patterns with no obvious repeat or geometry to them (or buy extra to match).
Orange Stripe Linen Kalle Hack Dress
Lis has outdone herself with this fabulous Closet Core Kalle Shirt that she has altered into a dress.
You can find her post on Instagram : “The photos don’t do justice to the beautiful striped orange linen I used for this #kalleshirtdress hack. I simply made the button placket version, cut it at the hips (62cm in my case) and added a gathered skirt at a ratio of 2:1. The skirt section is 70cm and allows for an extra deep hem to give it some weight.
The only other minor changes were to gather the back yoke and I also slightly deepened the armhole and widened the sleeve so that the oversized look was balanced there as well.
Perfect for swishing around in our June heat wave”.
This stripe linen has sold out but you can find others HERE
Green Ovals Jersey Dress with Overlay
Teresa made this dress using our viscose and elastane lightweight jersey and it is beautiful.
She sent us this message: Really pleased with this comfortable, useful dress. Made with another of your gorgeous fabrics.
The pattern is an old one but maybe there is another similar out there. (Simplicity 8070)
With the patterned fabric it is difficult to see the overlay on the front skirt but in wear it shows with movement. I underlined the body of the dress with one of your tricot knit linings.
Gingko Leaf Print Cotton Lawn Shirtdress
Chrissie made this beautiful Vogue 8903 shirt dress using our gingko leaf print pima cotton lawn. This lawn is super silky weave similar to a Liberty tana lawn and the prints are of an excellent quality. The only modification Chrissie made was adding in-seam pockets (who doesn’t want pockets?). It’s a super dress that is belted in for extra shape.
Watercolour Print Linen Butterick Dress
Brigid grabbed this superbly popular watercolour print lightweight linen for this Butterick 6784 maxi dress and it works BEAUTIFULLY. The linen works really well with this balloon skirt as it holds the shape without being stiff. Buying the right fabric for the right pattern is half the skill and we will always advise if you are unsure about the suitability of a particular fabric for a project. This dress oozes such wonderfully summery goodness it’s impossible not to love.
Pink and Green Statement Print Vogue 9112 Dress
Anne made this fabulous statement abstract print designer linen dress using Vogue 9112 pattern – the collar and loose cut is just PERFECT for a fun summery dress for all occasions. WE love. We want. Prints like this don’t come along often but we buy them whenever we can.
Teal Blue Jumbo Cord Pinafore Dress
Wendy has made up this Simplicity 1252 Jiffy pattern many times before and it looks fantastic in this teal cotton jumbo cord. Wendy lined it in Venezia which is a lovely lightweight lining that aids the dress to drape nicely over other garments without making it hot and sticky
Big Graphic Floral Print Linen Tessuti Ruby Dress
Anne used the funkiest of funky prints in a simple and fun A-Line dress by Tessuti patterns called Ruby. The Linen and cotton blend is a lovely medium weight cloth which is lovely to wear in the summer months. The pattern says the “style is flared at the hemline & makes a perfect floaty garment” Anne says she will practice floating down her local high street looking tres chic 😂😂😂😉
Neon Crepe Ruffle Dress
Do not adjust your screen! Shockingly bright neon moss crepe made up beautifully as a ruffle dress by Malin who initially planned it to be a skirt lining – but all best laid plans and all that – It turned into this. Made over the duration of two evenings as a last minute party dress. It’s fabulous. Malin had lots of lovely comments. And she definitely stood out!
Paisley Babycord Cissy Dress with Pockets
Jill came to the shop (by appointment) and chose this wonderful paisley print needlecord for the Homer & Howells Cissy Dress and YAY! it has pockets!
Gotta love a dress with pockets and this style is such a lovely easy to wear dress that suits Jill well.
Lined in a lovely plummy burgundy Venezia lining which works well with babycord dresses.
Olive Green Suedette Shirtdress
This dress looks a million dollars and so well executed Katie is rightly proud of her make (and we are so proud of her).
She used a tried and tested pattern ….vogue 8903 and added a cuff. She said she “had to hand sew the collar stand down as it was too much of a challenge getting all those layers through my domestic machine. Really pleased with this and will wear it to death!”
The fabric is a super soft and washable suedette with a bit of stretch in it ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Blue Gingham Shirred Sundress
All praise this super simple (no pattern) shirred cotton gingham sundress made by RhiannonP. ❤️
Why complicate what is perfectly simple?
A bodice like this is simply a rectangle about 3 times the bust measurement and shirred (elasticated) in to fit. The skirt is approximately twice the hip measurement and gathered in to fit the bodice.
What is harder to achieve (in the UK ) is the sunshine to go with the dress. 🙄
Coral Red Silk Satin Posh Frock
Debbie chose lockdown to make up a silk satin back crepe dress to die for. The pattern is an ancient Vogue pattern and she used the superweight satin back crepe to greatest effect by switching the right side on a panel. She said it wasn’t easy to work with and found an AO cutting mat and lots of wonder clips helped, and she did it! Sew beautiful!
Emerald Green Linen Shift Dress
Daiga has a thing for emerald green and made this beautifully fitted Indian Linen dress using Simplicity 8888 and hacked beyond recognition 🙂
Blue Floral Georgette Skirt & Top Faux Dress
Q) What’s more useful than a non-iron super drapey and flattering floaty dress?
A) A non-iron super drapey top and skirt that looks like a dress!
The beauty is the versatility with wardrobe options a plenty. This ‘dress’ is made in a lovely heavy polyester georgette (georgette is a very light fabric so heavy is a relative term here). All self drafted because Emma is a clever chick.
Pink Daisy Print Jersey Swing Dress
Effee said she bought this pink daisy print 100% cotton jersey fabric ‘by accident’ whilst looking for tailoring supplies, and then I guess this dress was accidentally made into this brilliantly happy swing dress from a self drafted pattern, and a jolly good accident it is too.
This type of 100% cotton jersey does not have too much stretch to it so perfect for this style dress.
Cobalt Floral Jacquard Jersey Dress
Lindy chose this brilliant jacquard jersey to use for McCall’s M6886 dress pattern and it is truly delightful. It is lined with tricot jersey to give it a bit more body and to save wearing a slip. This dress is DIVINE 😍
Navy Linen Parachute Skirt Dungarees
Fiona (lovely as it seams) made this absolutely fabulous heavy washed navy linen parachute skirt dungaree dress – self drafted. Isn’t it fabulous? Perfect eyelets! Perfect everything. She’s a very clever girl and I want her skillzzzz.
Embroidered Denim Dress with Scalloped Hem
This crewel embroidered lightweight denim has scalloped design running down the selvedges which Anne utilised to perfection on this pleated skirt dress. We LOVE! ❤️
Pink Linen Shift Dress
We are so loving this candy pink shift dress made up by Wendy in a scrumptious lightweight linen and (you can’t see it but trust us, it’s there) a fab leafy green cotton voile lining. The pattern is the Simplicity Jiffy 1252 which we have seen made up in so many fabrics and always looks great.
Black Cotton Bleuet Shirt Dress
Bess used this fabulous nearly black suiting for her Bleuet Dress (by Deer and Doe Patterns), the fabric has a great drape and hardly creases despite the natural fibres so is perfect for a close fitting dress (so you don’t get those unsightly crease lines across the tummy). Bess highly recommends the pattern – it all went together beautifully. We especially like the closely placed buttons which allows for some fun with choices, she used up all manner of mismatched dyed shell buttons which she said was only a fraction of extra brain power when doing the button holes (different sizes!).
Despite loving the back waistline bow on the toile Bess was worried she would feel foolish in a bow (she’s not a bow kind of girl), an epiphany in the shower (it’s always in the shower!) came with the idea of using a slider buckle instead – same shape and idea as a bow, but without the prissiness. Her primary excuse for making this was she needed a “plain black semi-respectable dress” – despite the multi colour buttons and the not quite black of the fabric this sort of fulfilled her brief 😊
Yellow Cotton Dobby Sundress
How glorious is this yellow dobby cotton voile sundress? As the fabric on it’s own was a little too see-through Angela lined it with cotton muslin. The pattern is based on McCall’s 7407, Angela says she’s going to make a tie belt to wear with it sometimes but thinks it will be very good loose in the hot weather! (definitely!)
Viscose Twill Squiggle Print Shirtdress
This is Claire’s favourite dress – made using a great quality abstract squiggle print viscose twill, the pattern is Named Clothing Reeta shirtdress, beautifully finished with matching buttons and pink twill tape on the inside for the waist casing (which she left up to us to pick for her and was super pleased).
Scribble Print Cotton Voile Sundress
This is Catharine (a longstanding Cloth Club Member) who sent us these photos of her “Signature Dress” in cotton voile which, obviously, we love. She said, “Couldn’t help but call this my signature dress! Pattern is vogue 9100 and only change was that I fully lined it (not just bodice) with the riviera cotton lawn as the voile needs something underneath.
Self Drafted Printed Linen Tunic
No Pattern? No Problem! Lesley self drafted her tunic and it fits beautifully! Made with a lightweight floppy floral printed linen, the neckline and arms are bound with bias binding
Printed Linen Dress and Coat
Kathryn wowed us with this super self drafted coat and dress combo made from lightweight Italian Linen. Soooo brilliant. We love ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Pink Wool Crepe Dress with Sleeves
Julie needed a ‘posh frock’ for a winter wedding and wool crepe fitted the bill nicely. Wool crepe will tailor so beautifully and is a joy to work with. It is warm in the cold and cool in the heat so a perfect choice for those occasions when you are half outside in the freezing cold and then indoors with the fires blazing.
The dress is lined in Venezia lining – a breathable anti-static lining that is soft and drapey like the crepe
Grey Wool and Silk Blend Vintage Dress
Joy made this amazing vintage cut dress using a lovely designer wool and silk worsted that is a dream to work with. Soft and fluid but with stability for all those tricky seams. This is perfection.
Wool Crepe Asymmetric Flared Dress
Marion looking superb in this dress made for her by Dawn of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead). The abstract stripey print on this fine wool crepe is perfect for the asymmetric lines of this dress. (Pattern developed by Hardy and Hooper). The dress is lined in Venezia (as all lovely dresses should be)
Red Jersey Flared Dress
A red dress to cheer up any day, Jacoba used mid weight 4-way stretch Cotton Jersey to make this fabulous McCall’s M7538 jersey dress, the seaming is genius and it has a heavenly drape.
Turquoise Fit and Flare Floral Dress
Jane (who used to come to classes back when we did classes) made this fab fit and flare floral print dress for a family wedding. The fabric is somewhat stretchy which made aspects of this dress tricky but with patience and perseverance she got there (we are always available for advice when needed). It is lined in Venezia which helped a lot in making the dress behave itself. Venezia is so soft and breathable it is perfect for lining summery dresses that would otherwise lose their shape. Even the pale colours are perfectly opaque.
Peacock Print Viscose Lawn Dress
Peacocks have inspired print designers for centuries and here we have yet another rendition made up beautifully by Sarah into this fabulous and easy to wear gathered floaty viscose dress. Finished with superfine bias binding and narrow velvet ribbon.
Ponte di Roma Abstract Print Dress
Lovely Ros wearing her tiger and abstract print ponte jersey dress. She said it made up really well (as we can see) and it is super comfortable and easy to wear. Simplicity at its finest.
Ponte di Roma Dress with Long Sleeves
Karen here with her brilliant subtle tile print Ponte di Roma dress with long sleeves (and a sneak peek into her sewing room!), such a useful, versatile, brilliant, classic dress for any occasion. It’s fab. We love it. The Pattern is the Sew Over It Zoe Dress
Embroidered Tulle Posh Frock
Karen made this fabulous embroidered tulle with 3-D flowers into a posh frock to die for. The pattern is Simplicity 1606 made for a strictly come dancing ball.
She says: Thank you for the great fabric Turquoise crepe worked well as a base for the tule. Used the scalloped edge around neck, sleeve and hem
It’s Fabulous Karen!
Black and White Check Pinafore Dress
Clair in Sunny Spain with her black and white pinafore dress. The pattern is self drafted, the fabric is washable stretch suiting, it is lined in Venezia dress lining
Psychedelic Print Polyester Crepe Dress
The fabulous and lovely Ros here wearing a super psychedelic print poly crepe (unlined) dress using Burda pattern 6363 – it was lengthened at the waist by 2” and she says it is the comfiest loveliest thing to wear 😍😍😍
Ponte Roma Long Sleeve Sheath Dress
This is Jenny wearing her extra long sleeved McCalls M7531 dress made in rococco print posh ponte roma jersey. It’s a very simple pattern (Jenny’s words) . She is usually a 10 – 12 and for this pattern was a medium. Surprisingly she didn’t need to shave anything off the the hips which is an alteration she normally does (snake hips!). This probably means us more endowed in the hip department will need to add.
Jenny chose not to have a seam down the back, as with jersey there is absolutely no need, so cut the back on the fabric fold also having straightened the pattern to match the front .
As it was a beginner pattern she ignored some of the directions (e.g double stitch the seams) and made the sleeves extra long goth style.
It came out good ! Very warm dress for a winter occasion. Pretty good on the lumps and bumps also (Ed. Jenny, WHAT lumps and bumps?!)
Green Corduroy Pinafore Dress
Wendy from @glowskincaredevon made this fabulous pinafore / shift dress in the pea-green trouser weight stretch cord (9536 on the website), it is lined in Venezia (which is the best lining in the whole world) and #ithaspockets ! We love ❤️ ❤️. ❤️ Wendy is busy keeping our hands soft with her amazing hand made skin creams – we recommend 👍
Parrot Print Cotton Jersey Dress
Jane made this parrot and glitter print cotton jersey dress up for Miaow using McCall’s 5135. Jane lengthened the top and narrowed down the side seams (because Miaow is a string bean), she also added some gather to the neck.
out takes:
Tencel Denim Shirt Dress
Jane made this fabulous shirtdress for Miaow using tencel denim and the Ottobre spring 13 pattern. It is topstitched with pink silk thread and because life is too short to turn rouleau loops Jane used a denim herringbone tape
Vogue 9251 Floral Viscose and Cotton Wrap Dress
Pamela made up this super navy and white seersucker lawn into the Vogue V9251 wrap dress, the proportions of this dress are beautifully cut and suits Pamela perfectly.
Perriwinkle Blue Pure Linen Pleated Dress
Who doesn’t need a dress made up in the colour of a summer sky? This dress is BOUND to put you in a good mood, it is the Kay Unger for Vogue V1353 shown on the packet in a cotton sateen but works beautifully in a heavy washed linen. Made by Janet who is a brilliant dressmaker and we love everything she puts her hands to. She has lined it with Venezia.
Red Poppy Print Stretch Cotton Sateen Dress
This is Marion wearing the dress made for her by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead), the fabric is a lovely poppy print stretch cotton sateen which is a super weight for the summer months, and lined in Venezia
Navy and White Viscose Lawn Printed Dress
Carole wearing this super cool and breezy navy and white viscose lawn printed dress using McCall’s pattern 7189
Banana Print Cotton Poplin Dress
Alice’s further adventures in bananas here with a cotton poplin dress (McCall’s McCalls 6696 view A). She made quite a few alterations to the pattern –
Changed the back bodice to get rid of the gathers at the yoke and added darts at the waist.
The front bodice was a bit too big in an 8 which is the smallest pattern size so pinched out the excess on the toile and re-drew the pattern which resulted in making the neckline smaller so the collar and collar band also had to be resized.
Trimmed about half an inch off the collar long edge to make it neater.
It sounds worse than it was in practice!
She decided to gather and line the skirt rather than pleat it and omitted the side seam pockets. This is the second dress she’s made for Lizby in this pattern which makes the adjustments worth the effort!
The fabric was a dream to work with and Lizby is delighted with the finished results.
Multicolour Floral Print Stretch Cotton Sateen Tank Dress
Pamela with her Grainline Studio Willow Tank Dress made using a multicolour floral print stretch cotton sateen, is there anything more useful in the heat than a tank dress? ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Heavy Washed Linen Self Drafted Dress
Susie the amazing sewing-on-the-side-of-harping self-drafted this linen dress in heavy washed Damiel linen. Dress up dress down – such a versatile and lovely dress. You can see many more of her creativities on Instagram
Nani iRo Printed Linen Wrap Dress
Julie in Dubai wearing her fabulous Nani iRo japanese printed linen wrap dress which was a somewhat troublesome make due to accidentally overlocking a hole in the front panel and having to recut.. but she got there in the end!
Horse Print Denim Pinafore
Miaow chose her fabric for Granny (Jane) to make up as a pinafore, the pink trimming and top-stitching was a surprise (she loves it).
The pattern comes from Ottobre magazine issue 29 spring 2013
*EDIT* 9 months after making it Miaow says this is still her favourite dress. Win!!!
Aqua and Yellow Lemons Print Stretch Cotton Sateen Dress
Marion on a cruise in Nova Scotia wearing the most fabulous lemon print on stretch cotton sateen. The dress was made by Dawn at Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead), Dawn has been making Marion’s dresses a while and they are always stunning.
Black and White Mary Quant Dress with Daisy Pocket
Bess downloaded the free pattern from Alice and Co at the V&A Museum in a flash and made up this Mary Quant dress with little to no alterations (unheard of for her- she nearly died of shock), the pocket took the longest and this was the second go as the first one looked like a fried egg! She used bondaweb to applique the daisy and slowed down her normal sewing speed in the hope she could sew accurately (more or less!). The black is a fabulous piqué weave viscose (very similar to a viscose twill) and the collar and daisy is a lightweight linen (probably not the ideal fabric as it frays like the devil but the colours were right and it more-or-less worked so don’t knock it!
Black and White Cloqué Pintucked Jersey Dress
A super flattering and comfortable dress here in monotone print cloqué jersey with a fit and flare dress pattern. Made by Jacoba who has been sewing up our fabrics so long she even has her own tag 😉
