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Laura’s Kinfolk Dress

With the beautiful Art Gallery Fabrics Mosaico Pompei cotton from Augusts Luxury SewHayleyJane Box Laura made the new Kinfolk Dress pattern from Jennifer Lauren Handmade

We may have had our few days of English sunshine but making summer dresses brings me so much joy!

There’s just something about Art Gallery cottons that are just so special. They handle like an absolute dream and the prints are just sublime. This one titled “Mosaico Pompei” is inspired by the stunning Italian island of Capri, and from my memories of Naples, I think it perfectly captures the tones of zesty limoncello and the salty sea breeze.

I thought this would pair beautifully with the new Kinfolk Dress pattern from Jennifer Lauren Handmade. It has a 40’s bohemian style that absolutely epitomises the breezy summer vibe. It is loose fitting with waist ties coming from a centre panel to cinch you in. It almost reminds me of the Charlie Caftan from Closet Core Patterns but feels dressier and grown-up.

The bodice is shaped with princess seams. Another good thing about Jennifer Lauren is that all her patterns come in lots of bust sizes (with different pattern pieces for each size) so you probably don’t have to worry about doing much adjustment. I have made a couple of her patterns before that fit me well, so I went with my usual size.

Working with cottons is always a treat as it behaves so well! There aren’t a million pattern pieces, so it was pretty quick to cut out. The A-line skirt is split into 6 “gores”, so it fits well onto fabric with a narrow width.

And of course, there are pockets! These are sewn into the side seams of the skirt and neatly secured along the waistline. They are slightly inset in that they are sewn with a 1cm seam allowance, and the rest of the skirt seam is 1.5cm. This makes them sit nicely and completely invisible with no peeking out.

Construction was an absolute breeze. There are no fiddly closures like zips or buttons to contend with, and the neckline is neatly finished with a facing. If you are using a floatier fabric like a viscose, I would recommend also interfacing your ties and middle panel to add some structure.

As I said, the waist shaping comes from the ties, however there is an option to add a length of elastic into the back waist seam which is supposed to help keep the gathers neat and even under the ties. I went ahead and added this in.

Overall, I’m really happy with how it came out and looking forward to making more in the future. It was very enjoyable to sew and I love how it looks in this print.

It will be perfect for *hopefully* warmer days ahead!