Eva… why did I wait so long?

Eva… why did I wait so long?

The Eva Dress was released by Tessuti 13 months ago and I’m kicking myself it’s taken me so long to sew it up.  It’s the perfect summer dress in my eyes.  I do love a dress that:

  • is high waisted
  • has a relaxed fit
  • includes an interesting detail – the skirt panels create a lovely lantern shape
  • screams to be sewn up in linen and worn with chunky beads and wedges.

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With it’s gorgeous lantern shaped skirt Eva is a bit of a fabric eater, but in my books, it’s totally worth it. I used some olive linen from the stash that was originally brought for pants. I usually buy fabric with a pattern in mind, but I rarely stick to the plan. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this?

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Stating the obvious here… I made the sleeveless version (the pattern includes an option for sleeves too).  The pattern instructs you to use bias binding as a facing on the neckline, armholes and hem.  This ensures all the raw seams are neatly enclosed and only a single line of top-stitching can be seen on the right side of the dress… or no stitching if you hand sew the binding.  The more I sew, the less I follow pattern instructions.  These days I view instructions more as suggestions!  For my first Eva (another version is already planned) I settled on adding visible binding to the neckline, armholes and hem.  I raided my liberty stash to add a subtle fabric highlight.  I’m really pleased with the result.

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I sewed a small in the shoulders and graded to a medium in the bust and skirt.  It’s supposed to be a loose-fitting dress, but for my next version I’ll make a straight small.  In the last few months, I’ve ‘shrunk’ a little and I’m having to adjust my sizing and fitting alterations accordingly.  How does the saying go?  Change is the only constant in life.

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The dress is drafted to be long (the small is 120cm or 47″ from shoulder to hem) and you can lengthen or shorten the dress through the lower panel.  To achieve my preferred dress length, I removed 3 inches from the lower skirt panel.

Pattern:  Tessuti’s Eva Dress
Size:  Small through the shoulders graded to a Medium in the bust and skirt
Fabric: 
Linen purchased from Tessuti that’s been in the stash for a while
Alterations: 
The lower panel of the skirt was shortened by 3 inches
Accessories:  Beads from Scarlett Jones & shoes purchased at Siricco.

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