This was another attempt at making ‘casual’ clothes that I could also wear to work. Usually in these attempts the conversation with my boyfriend goes a bit like this – Me: ‘I’m making a casual dress this time’ Him: ‘oh right, what fabric?’ Me: ‘Liberty silk crepe’, Him: ‘that doesn’t sound very casual’.
I wanted to go for a Reformation vibe so I used the Holly bodice pattern by By Hand London (which I learnt to fit perfectly in the class I went to at New Craft House) and I paired it with the Nina Lee Kew skirt. The Kew decision was mainly because I wanted a simple skirt that wasn’t too bulky, and because I love the dipped hem. Also I got all of the dress out of only 1.5m of fabric which when you’re using Liberty crepe is a good and necessary saving.
Obviously I had to do some modifications because both patterns usually have buttons down the front. For the skirt I cut the front piece on the fold and the back piece in two pieces with an extra seam allowance. For Holly I just folded over the button placket and ignored it when cutting out the front piece, and added seam allowance to the back two bodice pieces.
I lined with a silk crepe and finished the sleeves with elastic at the cuffs to make them a bit puffier. In hindsight I would have liked the sleeves to be a bit bigger and longer. But nevertheless I ended up with my casual Liberty crepe dress; my version of ‘casual’ anyway.
Kate Eva 