My Lilou Dress from Tilly and The Buttons

I decided to make another project from Love at First Stitch. I thought I would try the Lilou dress. It is the first lined dress I tried.

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 The pattern said to use 60inch wide fabric, but I couldn't find a design I liked in that width, so I bought an extra metre and cut the front of the skirt in two panels, just like the back and made a seam in the front centre. I think it turned out well. I made this pattern from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes.

I didn't trim the selvedge off so that I could make the seam less noticeable. I added an extra metre to the pattern requirement, as my fabric was 112cm wide, not 160cm. For the lining, which was also only 112cm wide, I needed another half metre. I recommend tracing the pattern and laying it out to check your fabric requirements. As it happens, this pattern is not intended for 112cm width fabric - the idea being that the front is cut from a single piece. I really wanted to use this print, so I had to make a plan, and I am really pleased.

Tilly shows a really special trick for lining this dress. The neckline and armholes are fully stitched, the seams are trimmed, and then the whole lot is turned right side out. You have to pull the back of the bodice on each side through the shoulder strap. You can buy this Swallows fabric from Minerva Crafts, I bought mine from A&M Textiles in High Wycombe.

Once you carefully pull the seam square and press it, it looks really good and the finish is really smart. I want to make this dress again soon.

I sewed the hem, using the special hemming foot that came with my Janome machine. I really like the result - my hand stitching is not even or very neat.

To finish off the bodice, I used a favourite foot. The stitch in the ditch. If you pin everything really carefully, even the inside of the dress looks lovely. I could anticipate a fully reversible dress could look really good with two full gathered skirts sewn back to back and would have a really full skirt effect. I think it might be great to try that for a child's dress.

This is what it looks like from the outside - the stitching is virtually invisible. If you stretch the seam open as you sew, then carefully press it flat after sewing, the stitching seems to sit further into the seam. This is something I learned from Just Get It Done Quilts on YouTube. She has some really good practical tips that work for sewing clothes, too.

I followed Tilly's advice for sewing the zip-in, but I also picked up a practical tip from YouTube. If you use a warm, not hot, iron, you can press the invisible zip so that the teeth lay more flat and are easier to sew really close to the teeth. Without this step, the teeth curl over as you sew and the seam comes out skew. I ended up redoing this zip, but I am really happy with it now.

This is the inside of the rear bodice:

Here is my finished dress:

See how it turned out on YouTube.