In an effort to being you a vast range of Sewing patterns from all around the world to choose from, we've recently added some fantastic brands to the on-line store. Along with Vogue, Butterick, McCall and Kwik Sew, we are now offering a great choice of independent sewing labels. Take a look to learn more.
What do you get when you cross a Tilly and the Buttons pattern with some Tilda fabric? A pretty awesome dress, actually.
Over to Louise....
Hi there! I am extremely happy and relieved to be able to show you my final version of the Tilly & the Buttons Francoise dress, made for the White Tree Fabrics blog team. I have already shown you two previous versions, both essentially acting as toiles for this project. The first one was too small for my liking (even though it perhaps didn’t look small to anyone else) and the second one had something fishy going on at the back…something I thought might be improved by making a sway-back adjustment to the pattern.
For my third toile, I made a sway-back alteration of 1″, re-positioned the lower part of the back darts to line up better, reduced the centre back seam allowance at the very top by 1″, adjusted the facings to match and lengthened the dress by 2″. It was not good. The problem at the back seemed to have worsened, so I concluded that the sway back alteration needed increasing. I made a fourth toile, this time increasing the sway back to 1.5″, and reducing the centre back seam only by 1/2″, and increasing the length of the dress by a further 2″. It was AWFUL. I threw away both the third and fourth toiles without taking photos.
I was feeling pretty depressed by this point. I’ve been trying hard to find the motivation to sew as I mentioned in a previous blog post, and I felt like I had wasted effort and time (not to mention fabric!) trying to get this dress to work. It enraged me. This is a simple dress! How simple could it get? Why is it I can make a coat or a shirt but I can’t get a shift dress right?!
I decided to give it one last go, but this time I planned on keeping it simple. I’ve been sewing for five years and I’ve never needed a sway-back alteration before, and it didn’t seem to be working now, so to hell with it. I retraced the pattern, lengthened the dress by 4″ and took out 1/2″ at the centre back tapering to nothing. And that’s all. If there was going to be a bit of wrinkling over my bum then so be it, I was past caring!!!
Back when I first started planning this dress I wanted it to be a special Francoise. I wanted it to be just that bit different. I wanted it fully lined and I wanted the collar to also feature some lace. I chose the Tilda fabric ‘Olivia Red’ for the main fabric, which I think is more pink in real life. I chose to make the collar with contrasting plain cream cotton and an ivory lace overlay. I chose a lovely ‘premium’ viscose lining which feels far superior to the polyester linings I have used in the past – much softer and smoother.
I made the dress with the 3/4 length sleeves, but for the lining I followed the directions for the sleeveless version. The lining is attached at the neckline (like the facing would have been) and it is sewn into the zip but otherwise it hangs free. The armholes of the lining are finished with bias strips.
For the lace collar, I cut two layers of collar pieces, a layer of interfacing and a layer of lace and basted the lace onto the upper (outer?) collar before sewing. I think it works quite well although maybe a heavier lace would have stood out more – I don’t know whether understated is better or worse in this case!
Making this dress has made me realise I’m not a fan of raglan sleeves. They make my shoulders seem too rounded, I prefer the definition of the seam on a regular armscye. I want to see where my shoulder stops and my arms begin because otherwise it feels as though my shoulders are slopping halfway down my arm. I also think regular sleeves are easier to fit, even though they are (slightly) harder to sew. The raglan seams wrinkle a bit on this dress and it’s probably down to my apparent lack of ability to sew well but whatever, I JUST DON’T LIKE THEM OKAY?!
Fit-wise, this dress is thankfully better than its four precedents: loose enough fit to be comfortable, and a better length. The full lining is lovely, and means I’ll be able to wear it all year round over tights etc. The back still needs work, but I’m not a complete glutton for punishment – Francoise and I are done! One thing I noticed when I looked at a lot of other Francoise dresses with collars was that the collar pieces at the centre back seemed to be very far apart. I bore this in mind when altering the dress so although I took out 1/2″ per side of the centre back neckline, I kept the original length of the collar pieces, hoping they would meet closer together at the back. In hindsight, obviously I should have actually measured it, because there is still a pretty large gap between collar ends. What is that about?!
Luckily the main fit issues and the gap in the collar are both at the back, and I can’t see the back when I’m wearing the dress so I’m not too fussed. I like the dress from the front and I know I’m being about 1000% more critical than most other people would be anyway..…so this dress is going to get worn. All that effort has to be worth something, right?! Besides, I love the fabric!
Thank you to White Tree Fabrics who sent me the pattern, the Tilda fabric, the lining, the lace and the cotton – all beautifully packaged :-)
Our popular warm jersey fabric has proved to be a huge hit with our customers and our bloggers. This versatile fabric is just perfect for fashion, as our bloggers have proven. Take a look at these previous projects which include dresses, t-shirts, cardigans and hoodies:
Louise's Purple Coco Dress
Skye's Charcoal long sleeve Tee
We're so pleased to be able to bring you a wonderful make from our blogger Louise, who wore her creation on her Honeymoon in Iceland! I guess this fabric really puts the 'warm' into warm jersey, plus this garment is in the gorgeous festive red shade. Over to Louise....
Here it is, my latest make for White Tree Fabrics and a super cosy Coco dress for my Icelandic honeymoon! The pattern is the good old Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress , but this time I made it with a funnel neck and cuffs as previously I’ve only made the dress sweet and simple and thought it was about time I gave myself more of a challenge!
The fabric I used was the warm jersey in red ,which has a one-way stretch, meaning that it hugs around your body absolutely wonderfully. It also makes it very snuggly and the perfect material for that fold-down funnel neck! I think I used 1.5m altogether for this dress, including the extra details and the pockets, as well as a reel of red thread.
I have to say that this dress was absolutely perfect for Iceland, where it frequented minus 10°c on more than one occasion. I love the red colour too – it’s so vibrant and very festive. It also matches the colour of my bridesmaids dresses which is a happy co-incidence! There’ll be a few images of both my wedding and my honeymoon popping up on the blog soon once I’ve had chance to edit so keep an eye out for those if you’re interested :) In the meantime, here are some more pics of my 4th Coco!
Huge congratulations to Louise on her marriage - we can't wait to see the wedding pictures, and of course the other dress!
Louise from Thread Carefully has created one of the most cosy looking dresses we've seen in a long time. Combining our ever popular warm jersey with the Tilly and the Buttons Coco pattern, Louise has created something that whilst being a simple and easy make, delivers fantastic results.
Tilly and the Buttons Coco Jersey Dress
Remember I said I was desiring simple sewing projects? Well you could not get more simple than Tilly’s Coco dress! White Tree Fabrics kindly sent me the pattern and 2 metres of their ‘warm jersey‘ for this project.
Now, I hope you are prepared to be really jealous of where I live – the tropical, glamorous beaches of the East Riding of Yorkshire were the perfect location to shoot these photos…..
My feet aren't touching the floor in this photo!
The pattern is great. Simple, but great. I was on the fence about this pattern for so long, because of its simplicity. I felt like after having been on three pattern cutting courses, I could draft it myself… but this is probably me being overly confident and, well, wrong. Maybe. We will never know, because when White Tree Fabrics started stocking Tilly’s patterns I hesitated not a moment longer and ordered it!
My feet aren't touching the floor in this photo, either!
Boy, am I glad to own this pattern! I traced it one evening, and I’m not kidding, the next lunchtime I made my first Coco in UNDER ONE HOUR. And I even liked it, which was itself a surprise because I wasn’t sure if it would be flattering on me (even though it looks great on everyone else).
Running towards the North sea. Totally tropical, don't you know!
My White Tree Fabrics Coco is one of the plainest things I have ever made. You know me: prints, prints, and more prints! But it’s getting cold, and I wanted cosy, and after ordering some samples I just couldn’t resist the ‘warm jersey’. This fabric is actually like a woolly fine knitted fabric, like they use to make cardigans etc. It is super soft and really warm and cosy.
Neckline Close up
I made the most basic Coco dress – plain neckline, no cuffs, no pockets. I added 2″ to the length which still leaves it above the knee but not too short. I was very careful not to stretch the fabric as I sewed, because the fabric recommendations call for a stable jersey and the fabric I chose was a bit too stretchy, really. I stabilised the shoulder seams with elastic (pictured below), and I also used the same elastic to stabilise the neckline before turning it under and topstitching it, too.
Elastic to stabilise the shoulder seams
I used Bondaweb to stabilise the hemline before sewing it. The stretch recovery of the fabric is great, so its stretchiness is no problem now that the dress has been sewn together. Oh, and it washes nicely too, on a machine wool cycle.
A mid-application shot of the Bondaweb, which I ironed in to stabilise the hem before sewing it with a zig zag stitch
I really love this dress, but it does feel weird to be blogging about such a simple sewing project! However, the dress is already getting worn a lot because it’s so snuggly and practical. It feels easy to wear, and stylish in an understated way. I’m on the lookout for some sort of bonkers jersey print for a future Coco, but for now I’m very happy with this one!
Thanks to White Tree Fabrics, and my photographer and co-blogger, Aileen.
Shopping list:
Tilly and the Buttons Coco Sewing Pattern, click here.
Warm Jersey fabric (available in 9 fantastic colours! Click here.
Just in case you weren't aware, WhiteTree fabrics are now proud stockists of Tilly and the Buttons sewing patterns. Available in store, we have Coco, Miette & Mathilde as well as our very special offer - £35.00 for the complete collection (saving you £2.50 plus we offer free P+P). These patterns are so popular because Tilly's designs mix vintage with the contemporary and all her sewing patterns are suitable for beginners and skilled sewers alike. They're also very user friendly, helping you to achieve great results.
Our blogger Amanda has tried and tested the Mathilde and used some of our lovely circle laceto create a gorgeous lace blouse, which we love.
Over to Amanda!
The lace Mathilde
My latest blog post for White Tree Fabrics is The Mathilde from the lovely Tilly and the Buttons.
As I am also known as The Wonky Sewer I had to try this blouse in circle geometric stretch lace to
hide my wonkiness!
The pattern is lovely quality paper and I wondered if patterns made from this would still form around my mannequin….they did and I cut out my pattern to the exact fit of my mannequin -Janibob.
I decided to still make the blouse in the same style with a button back even with the stretch in the lace. It was a nice blouse to sew and I liked the pin tucks although I am not sure they are my best work and I ended up stitching them down because the lace would not iron flat.
Work in progress....the blouse with and without a white vest top:
Rather than line the lace I just wore a white vest underneath it.
I tried the blouse on and I could get it on over my head so decided to just sew the wooden buttons on through the placket and hold the blouse together. After seeing the photos of it on me I think I might put a few more stitches in to make it look less baggy!
The sleeves are nice and baggy and I made a feature of the edge of the cuff sewing them so there is a triangle space where they meet. In the photos one of the sleeve is all tucked up but I can assure you they do match!
I think the neck is also quite big, so if you plan to make a lace version I would make sure you are careful with your neckline!
I do love it and it is a lovely style to wear….really comfortable. I wore it with my jeans for Jeans for Genes day today. I would like to try it in cotton next and do some perfect pin tucks!
If you fancy having a go at creating this lovely blouse for yourself, here's what you'll need:
Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde sewing pattern ► here.
Circle Geometric lace, available in Black, Ivory, Green and Blue ► here.
Some lovely buttons for the back ► here.
Essential sewing thread 100m, 250, 500m & 1000m reels ► here.
