protea | the curious kiwi

I made my first Sewaholic Lonsdale dress in late 2014 in a Joel Dewberry print. I really liked it and always intended to make another version with a couple of tweaks but, distracted by other patterns, I never got around to it.

I’m a big fan of Sewaholic patterns and I’m really sad that after Tasia sold the business on it just kind of…died. I like and own a lot of indie pattern brands and Sewaholic was in the small group of brands I hold in really high regard. Her fit and instructions were always on point. She used clever and interesting construction techniques and she always listened carefully to her pattern testers and the community.

At the start of this year I finally remembered to make another Lonsdale and the fabric that called out from my stash just happened to be another Joel Dewberry print!

I only had 2.7 meters (3.9m required) but I’m never scared of a good game of pattern tetris and I usually win.

Remembering that my first version was very long I chopped 10cm of the skirt pieces. Then I thought I was being very clever and efficient cutting the back bodice pieces in a single layer in between all the bigger pattern pieces…well that was the theory…

Oops!

This is efficient, if you remember to flip the pattern pieces! Luckily I had one more scrap just big enough to re cut that piece.

I always found the bow at the back of this dress really uncomfortable. It would dig into my back when I sat down or leaned against anything. I could get in and out of the dress without having to undo the bow so I actually cut the ties and stitched them to the back tabs after a few wears.

For this second version I wanted to insert them into the top of the bodice. This meant I could cut the neck ties shorter but I still had to add a join to get them out of my fabric length. These extra seams are completely hidden in the busy print.

That’s kind of about it. Excluding the ties and using an invisible zipper I made this dress exactly following the instructions for a change.

So here are lots of pictures (and eventually a cat):

My usual spot under the Kowhai tree was too shady so please enjoy the mint textured concrete of the lower section of my house. It kind of works 😉 It will be changing colour sometime later this year.

A sunbathing Harriet eventually decided to come over and “help”.

And that’s that…oh wait, I forgot:

Pockets!

Which is the perfect opportunity to suggest a fantastic podcast all about the history of clothing and in particular this episode about pockets and why we should appreciate them even if declaring your love for them is becoming a bit clichéd.

May all your clothes have perfect pockets!

THE DETAILS:

Pattern – Sewaholic Lonsdale, variation a, size 12

Skirt shortened approx 10cms, back halteneck tie omitted (ties captured in top seam at back of bodice)

Fabric – Joel Dewberry, Cali Mod, Protea in Midnight

Other notions – Interfacing, thread, invisible zipper

Previous versions of this pattern –