Hi guys, Laura here from @cottonreelstudio I have a question for you, what is better than a dress with pockets? A sweater dress with pockets of course!
If you have been following me on instagram or watching me on YouTube you will know that I have been working from home since March this year, like so many other people have. During this time I feel like my style has evolved so much and I’m now reaching for garments with comfort and colour in mind.
With winter fast approaching us in the Northern hemisphere I really wanted my next make for the Lamazi blog to be something that would encompass those things - comfort and colour.
I was very taken by the new pattern by Tilly and the Buttons, the Billie sweatshirt and dress and paired this up with some sweatshirting fabric by Mind the Maker. I choose the Old Rose colour and the matching ribbing.
The fabric is an incredible quality, it has a soft fleece back and is thick and sturdy jersey fabric. The sweatshirting is wide too - 180cm so you really don’t need a lot of it.
Based on my current body measurements (B36 W 31 H41) I decided to make a size 5, I wanted the garment to be more oversized and with the sweatshirting being so thick I didn’t want the garment to be too snug around my shoulders.
I had thought about making the puff sleeve sweater, but after I did some initial testing on the fabric I thought it would be too thick for all the gathers in the sleeve head and cuffs. So I was more than happy to make a long sleeve dress with cosy pockets instead.
I didn’t make any alterations to the pattern at all. For reference I am 5ft 9in tall and the dress hits me above the knee which is perfect for wearing with leggings. Sleeve length can often be an issue for me in that they can be a bit too short, but the pattern has so many options, including a longer cuff. The longer cuff is intended for use with the balloon sleeve but it works well on the plain long sleeve too.
This was my first time sewing with ribbing, I’ve made plenty of t-shirts and sweaters in my time, but I’d never used ribbing before. The matching ribbing was so easy to apply to the sweatshirt fabric and is so soft against your skin. I’m really pleased with the professional finish it gives. I’ll definitely be buying some to keep in my stash for future projects.
Like I have previously mentioned, you really don’t need a lot of fabric for this dress, I made my a size 5, out of 1.3m of sweatshirting fabric and 35cm of ribbing which I think is amazing.
Overall I have loved making this pattern, I think it is very versatile and I love the fabric I used to make my dress. This fabric comes in some lovely colours and to be honest there are so many fabrics in the Lamazi collection which would be ideal for it. Here are some of my recommendations;
