Back in action with the Cleo Dress

If you follow me on Instagram (@adventuresinfabric), you will have seen that I have been out of action for a while following surgery on my right hand. While it was nice to binge watch 'The Crown' (OMG the outfits!!), I was dying to get stitching again. I'm pleased to say that my recovery was quick and I was able to start sewing again after less than a week. 

First on my list was the latest pattern from Tilly and the Buttons - the Cleo Dress. I had been really excited about this pattern from the teasers I had seen, but was less enamoured when I saw the full pics the pattern was released with. It was only when I saw other bloggers sharing photos of their versions that I decided to buy the pattern. I think it was the pink version that put me off, which was silly of me as I should be able to see beyond fabric choice to the pattern itself!

Although I have a mountain of a fabric stash, there was nothing there that I felt was right for this project. The style of the dress lends itself to corduroy and I found some olive green corduroy on My Fabrics for £2.80 a metre - bargain! I bought the dungaree clips from Tilly at the same time as buying the pattern. 

There aren't many pattern pieces to this dress, so it's relatively quick to make. The centre seams use the mock-felled seam method (also used on the Rosa shirt by Tilly, not yet blogged), which gives a really nice finish. The main challenge with this project is the sheer amount of topstitching. I was pretty nervous that any uneven or wobbly lines would show up, but I actually enjoyed doing it, and am beyond chuffed with my neat lines of stitching, shown here on the front pocket:

 

I ended up making the shoulder straps too short at first and the dress was ridiculously short, so I adjusted these and am really pleased with the final result:

 

Here is the back view:

 

I know I will get loads of wear out of this dress. I'm planning a red corduroy version next (might be because Polly has one similar....)