Sewing with Stretch Fabric - Tilly and the Buttons ‘Joni’ Dress

Hello all, it’s Camilla, also known as @she_sew_fabulous here!

I was delighted to be selected as September’s blogger for Lush Cloth and thought that due to the timing of the post, it would be a perfect opportunity to sew a dress for the first day of school!

As many of you know, I’m a primary school teacher, so September is a time of year that brings on a whole complex multitude of emotions for me : I’m always nervous about having to bond with a new class, excited about the possibilities that lie ahead of us and also a little bit melancholy that my lovely six week break has come to an end. Still, as soon as the new school year starts and everything gets underway, I’m right back in the swing of things and loving life teaching the kids in my fabulous home made wardrobe!

I elected to sew the Tilly and the Buttons ‘Joni’ Dress, which can be found in her ‘Stretch’ book, something I’ve had on my shelves and regretfully not really used alot yet. I have a habit of buying books, pouring through them and oohing and aaahing over all the pretties and then putting them back on the shelves and making something else! There are so many lovely patterns to choose from in the sewing books I have, I must use them more.  

For this make, I chose the lovely ‘leaves gold pink organic cotton jersey’ which has a really pretty design and is a very delicate pink in colour. 

I decided I would document my make on my YouTube channel (she sew fabulous) and turned it into a sewalong. It’s only 12 minutes long, but feel free to go and check it out if you want some pointers to help you with this make. On the whole it’s fairly straightforward, but there are a couple of fiddly bits (aren’t there always!) I’m still learning with regards to YouTube videos, so please be kind!

Anyway, onto my make! I found this fabric was just perfect for this dress: it has a lovely drape, as you can see from the skirt, and just the right amount of stretch. The twisted front detail works really well, as even though it’s not double sided print, the pattern means that the white part of the fabric doesn’t look too out of place. Also, I think the twist design looks really lovely and adds a great shape to the bodice of the dress, which works well with the pattern. There’s alot of remake value too as you can alter certain elements of the dress such as the sleeves, the length and even the type of fabrics you use (e.g. a plain bodice and a patterned skirt or vice versa). There are plenty of lovely stretch fabrics available at Lush Cloth for you to choose from, if you decide to have a go at this one yourself, it took me ages to settle on one!

This was a really fun sew and as you read this, with the new school year already underway, think of me in my me made clothes getting to grips with my new cohort of children. Hopefully I’m having a lovely time!!

Why not take a look at the range of Jersey Fabrics on the website. Here

Thanks Camilla