Who knew I was a fan of the shirt dress? Not I until I recently made a purchase from the mothership at Liberty of London. I purchased a long sleeve Tana Lawn shirt below knee shirt dress and fell so in love that I promptly purchased a second one. Interesting for a seamstress I know! So I set about the challenge of finding/making a pattern to replicate the dress.
I put the call out to Instagram for patterns and got some great recommendations for shirt dresses but the closest one I felt to what I was wanting to achieve was Tilly and the Buttons Lyra dress as suggested by @sarahsewing. It had the collar and stand, button placket down the front and the skirt which could be lengthened. So it was a great starting block for my Liberty dress.
I started with a size 6 based on my body measurements and the finished measurements of the garment. This is a shirt dress that has a significant amount of ease which is exactly what I was looking for. And of course I used Mitsi Valeria Liberty Tana Lawn from the Strawberry Thief for my Toile. I used 5 meters and this included fabric for 1 pair of Charlotte Knickers by Measure Twice and a matching self drafted head scarf.
I knew I wanted a yoke on the back bodice so I created one by measuring 14cm down from the side shoulder seam and drawing a straight line across the bodice from side to centre back. I then added an inch to the lower back bodice fold line to create a pleat. When I traced these two pattern pieces off I added 1.5cm seam allowances to the new seam lines I had created.
For the the bodice I added 4cm to the length.
With the sleeves I knew I wanted cuffs so I used the Archer shirt sleeve to redraft the sleeve side seam and create the cuff keeping the original head of the Lyra sleeve. I used the size 16 sleeve and was able to draft a new sleeve with a cuff and placket. I added about 1-2cm of length (the Archer is already a very long sleeve) and whilst this is probably already just long enough I think next time I’ll add another couple of cm’s of length just because “sewing tall”.
I added 22.5cm length to the skirt to give me the same length as the original Liberty dress and ensured I had enough to give it a really deep hem. Folded 1cm then 8cm. Such luxury! I also added extra width to the skirt to a size 10cm to give it more gathers although I am thinking of removing some of it for my next version.
I ended up using 7 buttons, 5 for the front and 2 for the cuffs. I have some Arrow Mountain ones for my next version which I think I will be making for the Sew Melbourne Garden Party.
The thing that gave me the most grief was the collar and I have only myself to blame for not marking the notches. The collar stand didn’t come out evenly due to this so I’m not too happy with myself. Other than that, it looks fine if you are standing a couple of meters away!
So overall I’m really happy with this dress. The sleeves don’t have a tower placket but I can live with that. The cuff works and I think if I make the sleeve just a little bit longer I will be happy. The gathers on the skirt could be less but I can reduce that in my next version. My collar work is a bit shady but I can fix that with practice and by actually marking my notches and not going rogue. Plus, it has pockets! I see this as being an Autumn/Winter staple and having many more in my future!
Curtsey
Pips xxx
The skirt is from the Flora dress, also BHL, and is cut on the bias with an extra 20cm added to the length. I just managed to pattern tetris the whole dress out of the one 3 meter piece, with the added bonus of Liberty pockets.
I also hemmed the significantly epic hemline with a blue/white polka dot bias binding that peaks and hides the inside hemline. I didn’t have the heart or concentration to do this by hand which I normally would. It provides a whimsical contrast to the floral design of the fabric.
Bruce took the photo’s down by the Barwon river which was swarming with early exercising people and bugs.There were some sideways glances as everyone passed us in their morning active wear with me in my Sunday best. I hope they appreciated the effort I took in my dress for my stroll! I did receive a rather darling look from a little girl and my boys said I looked swish.
Photos by Bruce at Barwon River. Fabric is Outback Wife designed by Cathi at 
If you want to see more captures of our wonderful afternoon, search for #sewmelbournegp
No ones opening the door… guess it’s clear she’s gone. 
Ellie’s designs are exquisite and the underlying darkness in her design ensures it stands apart from that prettiness that is so often found in florals. Her designs are a mix of over sized blooms with digital enhancement and the odd butterfly floating in a sea of petals that give it a strong edge.
This is my Dirty Dancing moment, much to the horror of B1 and B2. I was, after all, having the time of my life. 
The water lilies were in fine form. And my death pose. May my inner gothling always be present.
The top is the Tiny Pocket tank (OOP) from Grainline Studio which I believe has now been updated to a similar pattern called Willow. I find this top very flattering with the addition of some shaping in the side seams. I stumbled upon the cotton lace overlay and silk remnant at The Fabric Store and was down to the millimetre to cut the Tiny Pocket out. The silk hangs below the lace which I’m quite pleased with when it is sitting over the skirt but I think it will be more likely tucked in. I used some black silk bias to finish the neck and arms that I’d made many moons ago to add some contrast. The the ribbon was originally threaded around the waist however it didn’t sit well so I’ve left it at the back to give a little extra gather and definition to the waist. 
The linen I used for the Chardon skirt was the Dark Floral II light by Ellie Cashman and it was heaven to sew with. No fading with washing and it retained its original beautiful structure which held the pleats of the Chardon skirt so well whilst providing a little pouf. The pleats seemed to give the flowers even more depth as they overlapped. The skirt went together beautifully and having sized down from my previous version, is now more fitted around the waist. And of course it has pockets. 
As this is such a special skirt, I hemmed it with vintage lace gifted to me by 
I hand picked the zip due the thickness of the fabric and to ensure greater control over where it was placed. It sits flatly across the derriere and has all the good curves in just the right places.
That centre flower looks so three dimensional within the folds of the pleats. Even when laying out the fabric it looked magical. I also caught a reclusive bug and lonely cute butterfly on the front skirt piece.
The number of times I’ve been told I was born in the wrong era… Countless. However the beautiful thing of living now is the that I can look back on all those wonderful periods (Victorian and 1920’s are my favourite) and recreate the designs whilst still having access to the modern necessities of life, say feminism, modern medicine, a fabulous array of fabrics and friends from across the world and an endless fountain of inspiration from the ether in which resides the internets. I’ve also started collecting vintage and antique lace and jewellery in the past year, things that I cannot find their equal of in todays fast consumerist society. I’m an old soul in a new world.
The photo’s were taken at the Winter Garden Cafe which had a beautiful exhibition of prints in their art gallery upstairs. It’s their 7th annual printmakers exhibition and runs from July 1 to July 31. If you are in the Geelong area I would recommend dropping in to view some of the amazing prints.
Allow me to introduce you to the 
I really do love this dress, and I already have the fabric for my victorian gothling version. I may use a different skirt, most likely gathered and with lower pockets, and will definitely lengthen to below the knee.
the girl in a tea cup 