Hayley’s Myosotis Dress
I tore open the bolts of this gorgeous flamingo print viscose the minute it arrived in my studio. Kate and Rachel from The Fold Line did a great job choosing this fabric when they curated July’s Palm Springs box.
They chose the Myostis dress to go with it, a pattern I’d always been intruiged by but kept my distance from, thinking at a size 18-20 I was “too big” for a loose fitting dress.
I was concerned that because there’s very little shaping around the waist it would look like a tent on me, hanging from my boobs and making me look even bigger.
However, after scrolling the many photos of this dress on Instagram I was inspired to give it a go, everyone looked so happy with their breezy dresses!
Using the body measurements as well as the finished garment measurements I cut a bodice toile in a size 44 at the shoulders and graded to a 46 at the waist. It came together pretty quickly and I was amazed to find that the bust and waist darts were all pointing in the right direction!
The bodice felt a little tight across the shoulders and was a bit too short but otherwise fit really well. So I lengthened the bodice by 1inch and did a 1 inch full bicep adjustment. Other than that I just used a 3/8” seam allowance to give a little more room across the back of my shoulders.
A lot of dresses I find come up too short on me, usually due to my hips lifting the fabric. So I made the longer skirt version as well as adding the skirt ruffle. As a very last minute addition I decided to give the sleeve ruffles a go too.
I’ve always said that I’m not a fan of ruffles, too fussy for me. I’m not “cool” enough to pull off a ruffle. Well… tastes change and who says I’m not cool enough?! Bring on the ruffles!!
Before hemming the sleeves and skirt I tried the dress on. It was not working for me, at all! I was devestated. Something about it just wasn’t right. I knew I probably needed to bring in the waist but when I added a belt it still looked rediculous.
I’m going to be honest with you here, I was ready to throw my sewing machine out the door. What’s the point in spending time sewing when I should just hide at home in my pjs because nothing looks good on me.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like this at times, I was feeling really down about my body. But after a cuddle with my husband I took to Instagram stories to ask for advice.
I got so many comments on that story, mostly people saying it looks great but also lots of helpful and constructive advice. The overall consensus was that it was drowning me, too long and not showing off my waist. The sleeve ruffles divided opinion!
Fortuitously I went shopping the next day and came accross a dress incredibly similar to the Myosotis, so tried it on to compare the two dresses. I loved it so much I ended up taking it home with me along with a renewed energy to tackle the one waiting to be finished.
I took 10cm off the length of the main skirt piece, constructed some thin ties to sew in to the side seams at the waist and I also halved the length of the sleeve ruffles.
What a difference!! I love the shape at the back of the dress so actually prefer bringing the ties to the front of the dress to show off my curves. Turns out, I can totally rock a ruffle!!