This probably isn’t the most ‘everyday’ dress in terms of style and colour, but whenever I wear it, I can’t help but smile. This dress is pure sunshine. Yellow is a colour that always lifts my mood and these bold hibiscus florals are just a magnificent shade of punchy violet. I made this dress as part of an Instagram #SewYellowForEndo24 sewing challenge in March hosted by the lovely Jess; she has been running this campaign for the last four years to raise awareness and money for the Endermotrisis UK charity. Endometriosis affects roughly 1.5 million women and those assigned female at birth in the UK, yet is under-researched and under-discussed. Talking openly about menstrual issues and raising awareness helps break the stigma surrounding this topic. There were plenty of events organised during March, such as Instagram interviews with sewists sharing their experiences with endometriosis, and even a party held at the Sew Me Sunshine HQ! To take part in the sewing challenge, you just had to make a yellow garment and donate to the charity, and luckily I had the perfect yellow fabric in my stash.
I picked up four metres of this Borgo De Nor deadstock cotton poplin from Rainbow Fabrics in December. I hadn’t actually heard of the brand before, but after a quick Google, I began drooling over their collections of beautiful clothes! I usually only buy fabric if I can immediately picture what I want to make with it; although I was quite smitten with the wrap dress this fabric was originally made in, I knew that I wanted to make a classic skater dress in this gorgeous poplin.
Image source: here
I picked up the Sew Over It Betty Dress very early into my sewing journey (I have the original printed pattern envelope design), but have only just now gotten around to sewing it! The Betty Dress has a wide bateau neckline, fitted bodice and a full circle skirt. The Betty Dress also has an add-on pack, allowing you to add sleeves and two different necklines, so you get a bit more variation to the standard pattern. I traced the armscye of the add-on pack bodice, as I knew I wanted to add ¾ length sleeves, and kept the original bateau neckline. I made a few of my usual adjustments to get a better fit at the bust, and I also underlined the bodice in a bright yellow Liberty Tana cotton lawn.
I only vaguely glanced at the instructions, as I could probably sew a darted bodice with sleeves in my sleep at this point! Hemming the skirt was a bit of a chore, simply because I always forget just how enormous circle skirts are, but the dramatic twirly-ness more than makes up for it 😊 One technique I like to use with underlined bodices is to blind-stitch the facing directly to the underlining; I really am averse to facings that refuse to stay in place, so this technique does keep everything neat and invisible from the outside, providing neither the main fabric nor the underlining aren’t too bulky.
I took this dress out to San Francisco on my latest visit. Simon very kindly snapped these pictures of me on the way to dinner at our favourite local Greek restaurant in Noe Valley. I felt pretty fancy, but not overdressed, which is the happy medium I strive for. I think more Betty dresses are on my horizon!
Sew Over It Betty Dress
Size 6 – 30
Bust: 31” – 57”
Waist: 24” – 50”
Hips: 34” – 60”
