Liberty Wide Strapped Flora

I’ve made a couple of ties before in this colourway of Lodden and I knew I had to plan a dress in it but spent a long time deciding whether I wanted it for summer or winter.

I opted for the Flora pattern by By Hand London which is my absolute favourite. I wanted some chunky straps with some ruching for this one so I drafted those myself really easily by cutting a rectangle, about 2cm wider than I wanted the straps to be, and gathering at either end before inserting them into the bodice.

I used Robert Kaufman fabric for the inside; I bought this a while ago to make a dress but it ended up being too sheer. I like the combination of the fabrics together even though it was a bit of a last minute decision.

I cut away the sleeves at the back and if I were to sew it again, I would have taken less away because it’s not an extremely flattering cut on me at the back now. However I think the style goes really well with the fabric.