Full Circle Orsola Dress

I’ve been waiting to use this Rifle Paper co Menagerie fabric for quite some time and when I saw Elisalex from By Hand London’s full circle version of the Orsola, I knew it would be the perfect pattern in this Rayon Lawn.

I also wanted to modify further and add short sleeves to make it the perfect Autumn dress; I really like how the sleeves make it a bit more casual. They were surprisingly easy to add, I just overlocked the lining armholes and attached the sleeves to the outer armholes. I used the sleeves from the Christine Hayne’s Emery dress.

I left the length quite long so that I could wear it with or without tights and the result is super swishy (probably due to the 3m skirt!) It almost seems worth the hour of hemming and ironing…almost.

My favourite thing about this pattern is how flattering the back is, and it’s a nice change to not have a zip, so you can vary how tight you tie it (and you can eat bigger dinners).

I’m definitely going to make another full circle Orsola, next time probably a summery viscose version. I’m also thinking about doing a full circle wrap skirt so that might be my next mission.