We’ve written a new pattern hack for The Trapeze, adding a full, double layered gathered skirt with a ribbon tie back. The result is playful and fun and the perfect canvas for a bright or embellished fabric. We chose our new Flame Tumbled Cotton Poplin (and the Alma cotton voile for lining). Because poplin is a tightly woven cloth and quite crispy it gives the dress a sculptural look. If you choose something softer like an Indian cotton it will have a softer silhouette. The second dress is made from our Libra Spot Indian Cotton.

We recommend using woven cottons (2-4.3oz) for this make, to achieve the crisp finish on the visible gather detail. Some suggestions would be: Tumbled cotton poplin, block print cotton, hemp/cotton blend, fine Indian hand weaves, Japanese cotton poplin and triple wash.

We bagged our bodice out with self fabric, but used a light cotton voile/muslin for the skirt lining.

Depending on the fabric you choose, there are two options for the skirt volume – gathered x 3 for finer cottons (up to 3oz) which gives a nice full skirt, or gathered x 2 for more sculptural cottons (up to 4.3oz) like our tumbled cotton poplin. Be aware that there is a lot of gathering to the skirt and if you choose a denser fabric then it will be harder to gather neatly which is why we have created the 2 x gather version.

You'll need the The Trapeze pattern and you can download the instructions here.

Fabrics pictured from left to right - Cirrus Jamdani, Terrarium, Stepping Stone, Whitby Jet Tumbled Poplin, Oki Mini Spot Basil and Navy Triple Wash.

Dressed Up to the Nines!

It’s always wonderful to make Christmas presents for friends and family, but how nice to set aside some time to make yourself a Christmas dress!

Katie and Elwen are our pattern development and sewing duo, they made themselves 2 Ellis dresses, a Trapeze, a Florence and a shortened September!

Outfit details as follows:

Sleeveless Trapeze Dress – Espresso Velvet (FYI Elwen wears a 12)

Checked Ellis Dress – Hettie Gingham (Katie wears an 8)

Shortened September coat – Shadow Brown Velvet (Katie wears an 8)

Green Ellis Dress – Anouk Heavy Tencel Twill (Elwen wears a 12)

Stripe Florence dress – Biscotti Linen (Elwen wears a 12)

SUMMER WHITES

Linen is one of the world’s oldest fabrics, celebrated for its strength, softness and subtle lustre. The perfect summer fabric, cool to the touch and absorbent, it will keep you fresh in the hottest of weather.

Linen is lint free, moth resistant and is stronger when wet. It is naturally dirt, stain and abrasion resistant. It is produced from the flax plant that require few or no pesticides to cultivate. This is why we love it.

The simple white linen dress teamed with natural leather sandals or a pair of converse is a clean, sophisticated, yet surprisingly dramatic statement. Keep styles relaxed and informal and let the fabric crumple. We have made the Trapeze, Fielder, Ellis and Camber. These are all very simple to make and easy to wear. These could be your holiday wardrobe is sorted.

Caring for linen: linen can be washed at high temperatures, although we recommend 30 degrees, avoid tumble drying regularly, line dry if possible. As linen has low elasticity (causing it to crease easily) do not fold away, repeated folding in the same place will cause the fibres to break eventually. Keep linen garments hanging up. Bleaching will damage the fibres as will certain strong antiperspirants. Press while damp.