Cozy Corduroy Anna

At last, I have photos of a finished object! Expect more coming soon! After a summer of sewing, I have quite the backlog in my closet, and mean to get them photographed ASAP, before I forget all the construction details.

This is, obviously, the Anna dress by By Hand London. Mother bought the pattern and had it shipped to me, which was quite exciting, since I rarely get the chance to make a pattern while the blogging world is so abuzz with it. I’m not much of a maxi girl (too short), but the short version is such a simple, versatile sort of dress!

I made it up in this cozy, soft corduroy from Fabricmart, with a fair bit of stretch (yikes, stretch!). The print is lovely, and reminds me a porcelain teacup, but I knew it had to be paired with very simple lines. The Anna dress is very simple, and a nice slim silhouette to boot. I’m very pleased with the overall look (and it goes smashingly with my blue beret, which I practically live in these days).

For sizing, I was a bit worried, as the smallest size is still a couple inches too big for my upper bust. I cut a size US 2 at the back, grading out to a size 4 at the waist. For the front, I cut a size 2 at the neck and shoulders, a size 6 at the bust, and a 4 at the waist, and took out half an inch horizontally a couple of inches above the bust. I cut a size 4 skirt.

I ended up sewing the side seams at 1 inch, to accommodate for the stretch. I also hemmed the sleeves shorter than the pattern called for, though I don’t know by how much. I’m pretty pleased with the sizing for the bust down, but it gapes something awful at the neck with regular movement, and the neckline is so wide as to be almost off-the-shoulders. I will definitely do some more alterations before I make my next one. I did make a muslin, but the neckline didn’t seem problematic.

My corduroy raveled dreadfully, and the only appropriate seam finish I could think of was french seams, so I french seamed it! They’re pretty bulky and don’t lay flat very well, but it’s not an issue while I’m wearing the dress. I bias bound the waistline seam and the back seam along the zipper with homemade bias tape from the teal sheet I used to make my shorts.

From the inside it looks like the waistline seam doesn’t match up. It does, though, I promise!

See? I didn’t have an invisible zip, so I just used a regular, hand-picked one. I like it.

At first I truly intended to match the stripes in this print, but somehow it didn’t happen. It mostly happened on the bodice, and I managed to get the front stripes lined up, but that’s about it. Luckily, the print is so busy, no one will notice.

Overall, I really like this dress! The stretch makes it so comfortable, and the corduroy’s really cozy. The fit issues are frustrating, but I’ll fix them for my next one, and they won’t stop me from wearing this one. I like the silhouette and the pleats-instead-of-darts (I used them on a couple of shirts I made this summer and I really like the look) and the boat neck! My current favorite t-shirt has a similar neckline.

I’m thinking of another Anna in lawn, perhaps with a slightly wider skirt for dancing. But in the meantime, my next project is a corduroy red-and-pink Macaron!