Eva dress

This dress pattern has been aging in my email *in* box for a while. I saw it posted somewhere, clicked over to Tessuti, saw that it was an online download, and purchased it.

From time to time I've seen versions of this on other's blogs and, I think, on pattern review. Periodically I'd say, now is the time.

Now is the time.

I panicked just a little, thinking I would not be able to find it hiding in my in box with its 5K messages. But, really no problem.

I had thought about sending it to my local copier, but decided on instant gratification instead. After all those months.

The first page of the pattern contains a 10 cm square to allow you to gauge the accuracy of the printing process. My square was smaller than 10 cm so I decided to go with size L, instead of size M, even though my measurements place me in a size M.

Having just purchased some rayon batik from Sawyer Brook, I could see the possibilities with this pattern.

These days, I have mixed feelings about rayon. You know, it wrinkles, it air dries slowly, it hates steam, and so on. But batik like this one was just too pretty to pass up. I totally love rayon batiks.

So I completely emptied my iron of any hint of steam, and prepared for a little frustration. But the top-stitching was easy with a dry iron.

Before I cut into the batik, I cut out a muslin of just the bodice. The size L was perfect, though I did decide to raise the front neckline and make the sleeves a little longer to cover more cellulite.

The shape of this dress is so pretty, I think. It has a slightly raised waistline and then two tiers of skirt. Each tier contains 4 identical trapezoids. The skirt is lantern shaped, so I had to pay attention in order to avoid inverting the lower tier, with its larger edge on top.

Instructions have you finish the hem of the lower tier prior to attaching to the rest of the dress. Of course I could have ignored that, but I'm glad I didn't. Finishing the hem without the rest of the dress was easier, because of the bulk.

In addition to the pretty shape, this pattern has inseam pockets. I do love a good inseam pocket, especially on a dress like this with a loose fit through the hips.

The third thing I love about this dress is the opportunity to use bias binding at the neck, the sleeve hems, and even the skirt hem, which I particularly like. I used a light weight plaid linen since I had too little rayon batik left over.

I am drawn more and more to purple right now.