I made the By Hand London Hannah dress which is a beautiful yet simple wrap dress with short sleeve, tulip sleeve and bishop sleeve options. I made it up in a 100% viscose floral print in a pink and burgundy wine colourway. I made the straight size 14 with a few hacks.
Firstly, the bishop sleeves are amazingly billowy but I wanted more volume at the sleeve heads so I used the Mood Fabrics Onella blouse (free pattern) sleeve head to add extra gathering and therefore extra volume. I also used the cuff from this blouse as the Hannah dress uses elastic to gather their sleeves which I preferred to omit on this occasion.
The cuff has the perfect circumference that allows you to slip your hand in and out without any buttons!
Next, I bias bound all the hems and used the same wine satin bias binding for the ties instead of the recommended rouleau ties. I then added some non functional waist ties at the front and back bodice to break up the pattern and also to accentuate my waistline. I like that the ties don't move above or below the waist seam like most functional wrap ties do so I will use this hack again.
Lastly, I added button hole elastic instead of rouleau ties for the internal wrap closure to allow for sitting and eating comfort 😜
I love the finished garment in its entirety! It's a romantic, elegant, feminine dress which I will be wearing to my brother in law's wedding at the end of May. I have more planned and next time I will just lengthen the bodice by an inch. That's it.
The fabric was a dream to sew (using a size 70 needle) and press but quite slippery to cut out. I used my rotary cutter and mat for this project as my usual electric scissors would not have been precise enough. The fabric was drapey and flowy and a perfect pairing for this pattern. The print is beautiful and consists of some of my favourite colours.
The pattern is well drafted. I had no issues with the fit. The instructions were clear. They have layout plans for every sleeve/dress combination to allow you to minimise fabric waste. I love how this is a staple pattern which can be used to sew up a casual dress in some linen or double gauze for example and yet by using a viscose, crepe or silk, the pattern can then be elevated to ocassionwear.
By Hand London are now longer printing these paper patterns so it's lovely to own a piece of their history. The pattern envelope and booklet were a joy to look at and use and it will now sit happily in my pattern collection.
Jenny Says:
"Pretty in pink certainly covers it, Crystal you look stunning in your beautiful dress! Those sleeves are just dreamy and I particularly love the contrast wine binding tie, it really lifts the whole garment."
Inspired to make your own version? Here's what you'll need:
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| By Hand London - Hannah Dress | Pretty in Pink Viscose (out of stock at the time of writing, however due back in stock w/c 13th June) |
Disclosure:
Crystal was provided with the materials for her project free of charge and received a gift voucher in recognition of the time spent on her project.