When I first saw the Avid Seamstress Day dress pattern, I fell in love instantly. It is such a simple, yet flattering silhouette and, above all, it has pockets!
I decided to make my first Day Dress (for I am sure there will be more) from one of the wonderfully fun Cotton and Steel fabrics that Harriet at Sew Me Sunshine stocks. My recent makes have been a bit more on the sensible side, and I was keen to embrace a bit of whimsy so I chose these adorable lemurs.
The fabric is a mid weight cotton, with a good amount of structure in it, absolutely perfect for the Day Dress or a similar pattern such as the Nina Lee Carnaby dress.
This was the first Avid Seamstress pattern I have worked with and the instructions are really clear, with lots of handy hints and sewalongs on the website.
I found the order of construction a little strange as you assemble the front and back completely separately, rather than the bodice and the skirt being separate. It still works out ok in the end, and I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t assemble it the more traditional way if you wanted to.
The only area that I had a little bit of trouble with was the waistband elastic. The pattern tells you to leave the first and last 2cms free from the elastic, but when I did that, it meant that the bodice was way too small for the skirt. I unpicked all of the elastic (yuck) and gathered it from end to end and that fixed the issue.
I knew that the smallest size was a tiny bit bigger than my measurements so I just used a slightly bigger seam allowance on the side seams and that worked out well. I didn’t want it super fitted but also wanted to make it flattering.
Overall, I absolutely love this dress. The fabric is just gorgeous – really lovely quality and the lemurs make me smile every time I look at them. The fit is great and I think it is a great addition to my handmade wardrobe.
That’s really lovely, a great fit on you. To be honest I wasn’t that taken with the pattern photo but the fit looks much better on yours and I love the fabric.
Thanks so much Maggie – I’ve worn it so much since I made it! x
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