Loving Lois - Tessuti Dress

Today brings a new pattern (for me) and it was such a great find! 


 Whilst I have heard of Tessuti and of course, like many people, tried the free Mandy Boat Tee pattern (which unfortunately doesn't work for me at all), I hadn't really given the patterns on the site much attention.

Enter the Lois Dress which had me intrigued... It's V-neck and floaty and was calling to me. I went for the gamble and bought the pattern. I wasn't convinced it would work well as I had fit issues with the sleeves of the Mandy Boat Tee being too tight for my arms and I fully expected this to be too tight. This was also a concern as my measurements put me in the 16+ range....which doesn't exists. I figured I'd just add a bit of ease.

Before making this I went on an internet deep-dive about the fit and just about every review said it came up really big and to size down. 

I can confirm - this dress comes up big. Size down.

 For the actual size I did start with the 16 to see what happened. The fabric is red poppy viscose from Rainbow Fabrics which I chose for my toile.

What happened is that the 16 fit wonderfully across my back and shoulders. The bit I figured would pull too tight. I did however have to take it in from under the arm to waist so in reality that part is a 14.

This is a hell of a pattern with some very interesting details:

Back Wrap - there are no side seams! The skirt wraps to the back of the dress with some darts that create the shaping at the hips.

Hip Zip - the zip is inserted into the side hip dart. There dress is so roomy, there was absolutely no need for a zip and so my versions, don't have one. 

Beautiful Binding - the method of binding the neckline is amazing. There's some kind of folding and edge stitching magic going on which created a non-gaping, fitted neckline.

Interfacing Insanity - this pattern appears to be sponsored by Vislene as it has you interface just about every edge and seam with stitch and tear - and tear it all off after you have done. I did not do that. I just stay stitched the neckline and the front skirt piece. It was fine. 

Bias Binds - The arm cuff pieces are cut on the bias so ease into the armhole nicely. 

I don't think I've ever worn something so low cut but the fit of the dress is just fantastic at the neckline. I thought it was quite flattering and didn't cause any unwanted flashing when it was worn.

 

That being said I figured that if I could raise the neckline a bit, the pattern could make a great day dress. I picked some really fun poison dart frog rayon from Soimoi who sell through Amazon. (Takes about 3 weeks to arrive from India to UK).


 I made a few changes to the pattern to make this yellow frog version. 

Cuffs - due to fabric constraints I cut these on the grain not bias. They were absolutely fine. 

Bust darts - my original version had the darts in a bit of an odd place so I moved these about 1.5" across the bodice.

Neckline - Melt Stitches has a great photo of how the neckline is raised so I refer you to her site! She had also popped in a few buttons which I thought was a nice detail and so also did the same for mine. (Buttons from Etsy)


 Skirt flare - unfortunately I had to narrow and shorten the skirt pieces due to fabric constraints as I didn't realize it was a fairly narrow piece I had chosen. Works just fine for a day dress though and minimal waste!

Loving Lois.

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4 comments:

  1. Hi, they are both gorgeous! I'm getting ready to sew this baby too and I am off the size chart at a 44inch bust 38.5 waist and 43.5 hip. When did you decide to leave out the zip? I'm new to zips in fact only done one. I don't see the point of putting it in if it is roomy. So my question is do you step into it rather than over your head and did you sew as to put in the zip and realized just before putting it in it was roomy enough? Thanks for help!

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    1. Hi there - so sorry I just saw this comment! Yes I sewed the whole bodice up first and just popped it over my head to try it out. At that point it felt absolutely fine so I just attached the skirt. I figured I could always unpick a bit if the zip was needed :)

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  2. Gorgeous! At what point did you decide not to insert the zip? I am just over the size chart in the bust and waist. I'm going to do a toile of the bodice only but am new to zips. Did you find the room in pulling the dress up rather that over your head? Thanks Deb.

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    1. Hi there - so sorry I just saw this comment! Yes I sewed the whole bodice up first and just popped it over my head to try it out. At that point it felt absolutely fine so I just attached the skirt. I figured I could always unpick a bit if the zip was needed :)

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