Wow. I can’t believe I completed the dress 👗 as it it was touch and go, but I did.
For the challenge, which was created by the fabulous Ruan @TheYorkshireSewGirl and the lovely Sam @Frugalisama over on Instagram, I picked the Bardot Dress which was designed in collaboration with Lauren from @Elbe_Textiles and @PeppermintMagazine.
The Bardot Dress has a decent size range and a good amount of ease. The body measurements start from high bust 28, full bust 31, waist 24.4 and hips 34.6 inches to high bust 51, full bust 53, waist 46, hips 56.3 inches.
Because of the ease and the amount of fabric I had I choose size H for the bodice and I.
The fabric that I choose was “Bird Parade” viscose twill from @FabricGodmother … which I think suits this dress so well, especially for a spring summer print and dress!
I used 3 metres of this viscose twill and that’s all I had. I didn’t use the fabric layout … recently I’ve been playing pattern Tetris and loving the challenge!
Sewing this up I noticed the fabric was fraying ever so slightly but it was as bad as other viscoses but I did try out French seams and they are on the majority of seams including the pockets and the bodice! This was my first time trying out such skills and I’m gobsmacked that it worked out so well.
I made my own bias to add to the edges just by cutting out strips of 2cm wide on the bias on a s small piece of left over fabric. It wasn’t straight or neat but it does the job and you can’t see the wobbly edges as they are on the inside.
This dress took a lot of gathering and I mean a lot! Lots of patience, even more pins and delicate precision were required to get even gathers.
I’d definitely recommend this dress for summer holidays or lounging about at home on a hot day. The instructions are really good but I really didn’t use them that much. I kinda just went for it!
When I do this dress again and I will do it again, I’ll size down further on the bodice and shorten the shoulder straps and I’ll probably shorten the bodice. I’ll still swan about in this dress though as it’s got swoosh appeal!
I just want to thank both Ruan and Sam for this amazing challenge. It’s been so nice to see so many lovely makes from the community and find some more free patterns that are size inclusive. On that note, I think I’ll be trying the Peppermint Maxi Dress and the Lucia from Mood fabrics, very soon.
Happy Sewing!
Sew Do It Emma 