Dressmaking in my spare time: the Bettine Dress by Tilly and the Buttons

Hello!

I thought I’d do a short review of the Bettine Dress by Tilly and the Buttons, my most recent dressmaking success! This is actually the first item of clothing I’ve never had to unpick or redo any part of… Yay!! I think it’s a combination of the clear, well explained instructions, and that I’m getting a little better at dressmaking.

Each stage of the pattern is well explained and comes with colour photographs. I like that little tips are given about potential pitfalls, which made me turn the speed down on my sewing machine!

I really like the way the sleeves and neckline fit.  Next time I’ll make the skirt longer, (the length is fine but I felt a little self conscious wearing it whilst scrambling around after my small children) and possibly alter the tulip shaped skirt to a-line, or even fuller if I use a floaty fabric. I’m really pleased with my fabric choice- it’s a nice cotton lawn, which I bought from Abakhan Fabrics. I had quite a long discussion with my lovely next door neighbour as to which way up the print went, and when we finally reached a decision, my husband disagreed! A picture on the Internet was the final decider.

So all in all this has been a most enjoyable dress to make and wear, and I’m looking forward to making another.

Teresa x

Many thanks to my very patient sister Felicity for taking photos of me!

If you are interested, search #sewingbettine on Twitter or Instagram to see some of the other fantastic Bettine dresses that have been made.