Laura’s Hughes Dress
After saying last month that I need more comfy trousers in my wardrobe, here I am again making another dress. Oh well!
But as soon as I saw this beautiful fabric, I couldn’t imagine it being made into anything other than the Friday Pattern Company Hughes Dress. Viscose twill is one of my favourite bases to work with as it feels “substantial” but has the most amazing weighty drape. It was crying out to made into a dress like this.
The Hughes dress is quite an “old” pattern in the Friday Pattern Co repertoire, and I think often overlooked. But I can attest that this is not one to be missed. I absolutely love the silhouette with the fitted top and sweeping A-line skirt with the high slit up the front, it feels almost 90’s vibe that was a perfect match with this fabric.
I looooove the print that Hayley has chosen for this fabric, and I was even happier to get the blue colourway. I think this tone really suits me and I enjoy wearing blue. The leaves have an almost golden quality to them that very much lends itself to a witchy, magical forest theme.
The construction of the dress is beautifully designed. It has Viennese seams – similar to princess seams that run from the shoulder except Viennese seams run instead from the armhole – which gives a really good fit in the bodice. The gorgeous scoop neckline feels open but not too exposed, and the gathered sleeves feel perfectly proportioned.
The skirt is panelled into 7 A-line pieces so there is a glorious amount of volume and swish on the bottom with a streamlined meeting to the bodice at the waist. That hemline though was a mission!
The bodice and front skirt panel is fully lined. I used some navy cotton sateen from my stash to use as the lining and I think it works great with the viscose twill as it adds structure without feeling too heavy or flimsy. The bodice lining is constructed in the same way as the outer bodice before being sewn together at the neckline and front.
The bodice lining is then attached by hand at the armhole seam. I find with hand sewing, you’re in one of two camps – love it, or loath it. I am a resident of camp loath it. Maybe loath is too strong a word, but essentially, I would really do anything to avoid it.
Thankfully it didn’t take me too long and did it on a Sunday morning catching up on some YouTube vlogs. Whilst it does give a lovely finish inside, upon reflection I think that you could make it easier by basting the bodices together at the armholes and attach the sleeve to both layers then overlocking the seam allowance. I’ll be doing this next time.
Overall, I could not be more thrilled with how this dress came out.
I feel like the fabric and pattern combo give a “dark academia” vibe that I am absolutely loving right now. I am utterly obsessed with the silhouette. It doesn’t feel overly fitted, offering a little but comfortable amount of ease in the waist, accentuating my figure whilst skimming over my less confident bits! And of course, the swishy skirt is a dream.
I think that this can be a very versatile garment in my wardrobe to dress up or down. And from how good I feel in it, I think I will be wearing it all the time!