Butterick B5951 in Liberty Lawn Rachel de Thames - View A

I started writing this post two weeks ago!  Busy time of year for everyone...I hope you are all enjoying the run up to Christmas.  I am playing Elvis "Christmas Peace" as I type.

I made this dress a few weeks ago and have worn it a couple of times.  It's seriously comfortable.  I just wish I could have got better photos of it.  It's the story of my life it seems, but I really have trouble taking photographs when the light is so bad.  My house is pretty dark as it is (I like it that way), without the pervading gloominess outside.

The dress was so terribly quick and easy to make, and I made no alterations at all except for to take in the front darts a little bit under the bust as it was a little loose there.  I had no problems with the back being too long, which really makes a change.  It didn't even need shortening in the skirt.  I lined the whole dress in black cotton lawn (the pattern is for a lined bodice only).  I bought quite a bit of this stuff and I often use it for lining.  As you may have noticed, I rarely wear tights, shunning them in favour of a nice pair of knee-high socks (elegant!)  Socks are so much easier to wear, I find. So my dresses don't have anything to stick to, which means a cotton lining is perfect even in winter.  Also, I like the body it gives to a garment.

Because I really like my seams to match either side of the zip, these days I always hand sew my zips in, unless it's an invisible one.  Also, I do find it difficult to sew the zip in evenly on each side of the teeth, and I find that difficult sometimes with my machine.  Let's face it, I love hand sewing so I don't need much of an excuse.

Because I didn't make up a muslin to check the fit, I used some Liberty lawn that I wasn't exactly in love with, thinking that if it turned out a great dress it would be wearable (which of course it wouldn't be if I had used some of my cheap extra wide sheeting bought specially for making muslins).  As it happens, I love the fabric now.  Here is a close up of the fabric and the gathers in the front darts:

The arm holes are lovely and deep, which means they are very comfortable.  It will be a great dress to wear in the summer.

I will definitely be making this dress again; I already have a fabric lined up, and a lovely, crisp, purple cotton lining.

My cardigan in the top photograph is Andi Satterlund's Hetty, which I knitted in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted in Victorian, a dusty sort of pink.  I knitted it a good few weeks ago, so I can't remember many details very clearly, but there is a page for it on Ravelry as there was a knit-along.  Here are some photos (excuse the fact that it doesn't really go with the Hawthorn top I'm wearing.  I only put it on for the photos!)