Tessuti Fabrics Lisa Dress

Darts far too low on pattern.

Armsye far too low. Had to redraft pattern with higher dart and armsye.

skirt easy enough to make

Great making of pockets plan, unusual but worked! Emailed Tessuti re my concerns with photos. Fell on deaf ears!

Great pattern with really good instructions (which seems to be a Tessuti trademark). Lovely details and easy to follow. I am petite/5'2" and found it to be too long in the body post-make so took it up at the shoulders - for my next version I will adjust pre-cutting and would advise shorter sewists to do a toile of the bodice before making. I have seen hacks of this pattern making lovely tops so might try that too.

The Tessuti Lisa Dress is one of my absolute favourite makes this year! I love the high-low bodice shape, it's so unusual and looks lovely on everyone. I really like the button up bodice too - it adds interest, although I don't actually need to undo the buttons to get it on and off so you could do a faux placket if you didn't want to contend with buttonholes! I have never done in-seam pockets the way they are written in these instructions before but I love the method and will be using it on other dress/skirt patterns going forward. I chose to make mine from a quilting cotton and it worked great - it's always awesome to find a pattern that works well with quilting cotton - sometimes those prints are just too hard to resist! I have been wearing my Lisa dress all summer and plan on layering it over a long sleeved t-shirt to continue wearing it into the autumn!

I absolutely love this dress. The pocket instructions rule. The contoured empire waist is my jam. And buttons!! I cut the pattern out in my size but did take in the bodice a little bit at both side seams. Used light tracing paper in place of the Vilene shields which worked awesome. A really fun sew. Need more of these for summer. More info at themindfulsewist.com

I was asked to make this dress for my daughter and I readily agreed as I like Tessuti patterns for their extremely clear photo instructions. Interesting features are the gathered hi/lo waistband, front button placket and it has pockets. I also like the really neat bias finishing of the neck and armholes. I had learnt from previous experience that Tessuti patterns generally come up large and took the risk of making a size smaller than my model's measurements would have suggested. I also ignored the instructions to use tear off vilene for the arm and neck holes and instead just used staystitching as the linen I used was quite lightweight and I didn't want to 'tear' it out of shape when removing the vilene. The stay stitching worked just as well and was much easier. I have been told that the dress is 'perfect' and judging by the photos i've seen 'in wear' it does fit extremely well. I made a size xs for someone who is usually a uk size 8/10.