I love the Kew Dress pattern by Nina Lee London and last year I made one in blue linen. When I saw this beautiful naturally dyed linen from Sister Mintaka, I knew that it needed to be a Kew, but I wanted to add some frilly sleeves.
Since the linen is quite thick, I didn’t interface the facings, and I only did one layer on the sleeve, overlocking the edge and hemming it. I cut them out freehand in a curved shape and kept pinning it to my shoulder to check the shape.
As for the buttons, I wanted them to be quite simple and a bit of a contrast because I’m not used to wearing pink, so I chose tortoiseshell ones from Liberty.
The only other adjustment I made to the pattern was to exaggerate the dipped hem, I cut it about 3 inches longer at the back than the usual pattern and about 1 inch longer at the front. I really like the result and think it goes well with the frilly straps.
This was an absolute dream to sew – I’ve been making bridesmaids dresses in tencel and have been knee deep in floaty fabrics so the linen was a breeze. I even had enough left for a table runner – win!
Kate Eva 