I’ve made a Liberty Dress using ‘Lake Octavia’ from the new AW19 Liberty collection. It uses the pattern by Made by Rae and is the ‘Ruby Dress’ which can be found here. It’s a really simple project for someone who is just starting out on their dressmaking journey. I’ve really enjoyed making this dress and am looking forward to making this in all sorts of fabric combos.
It took a while to make the bias binding to edge the armholes and neckline but it looks great next to the contrast fabric.
The pattern:
This is a lovely dress with a contrast yoke and gathers for a comfortable and flattering fit without the need for bust darts, zips or other closures. The armholes and neckline are bias-bound for an easy finish. It was super fast and easy to make until the binding. It was a bit of a fiddle and just takes time but is worth it!
I added a completely different print on the yoke which meant that adding the same fabric as the main part of the dress as the bias tied the two together nicely. There is an option to do a facing for the yoke (via an online tutorial at https://www.made-by-rae.com/2013/09/ruby-dress-yoke-lining-video-tutorials/ ). This would mean there would be no need to add bias which would be quicker but it depends if you want the look of a contrast bias or not. I sewed the yoke together and the dress on then cut about 1cm away from the arm holes. There’s no need to do this – it’s just my personal preference to have a bit more space there!
The fabric:
The main body of the dress uses the gorgeous Lake Octavia from the new Aesthetic Renaissance AW19 collection. This design was inspired by the Liberty archive. The fabric has Eastern elements and rich colours. Kingfishers approach calm waters, surrounded by blooming irises, peonies and chrysanthemums.
The contrast fabric on the yoke is a Sevenberry cotton called Ayase Red/ which is a traditional Japanese print.
I love the fact that it had no zips and no buttons – hurrah so super easy!
