Megan Nielsen Sudley Dress and Blouse

This is my finished Megan Nielsen Sudely blouse in this lovely gingham from Minerva, gifted in return for a review on their website. It is a fairly straightforward sew with a loose fit and no darts. It can be worn either way with ties at front or back. I prefer the ties at the front. The only tricky bit was sewing the binding round the keyhole and neck. There is a great tutorial on the website which takes you through this process step by step which I found very useful. I found it hard to turn the bias to the inside and not have any bias showing on the right side so I understitched the seam allowance to the binding and that helped a lot. The pattern has lots of different dress and blouse variations.I love the collar! I think it looks smart and am sure I will get a lot of wear out of it this summer.

This pattern has been on my 'wanted' list for so long, I'm so glad that now I have finally made it, it hasn't disappointed me!

The Sudley is very recognisable due to it's super cute keyhole cut out neckline. The dress has no darts in the bodice which means that it can be worn with the keyhole at the front of back of the dress.

It can be made as a dress or a blouse with various options listed above, and I chose to make the lined dress version -there's something very luxurious about wearing a lined dress isn't there?

The pattern covers sizes 0-20, which is a bust range of 32″-46″. My measurements at the time of making this are 35/29/39 which puts me as a size 6 for the bust, and 10 in the waist and hip. I decided that the bust measurement was the most important to consider with this relaxed fitting style of dress, and after looking at the finished garment measurements I opted to make a straight size 6. This has the perfect fit that I was after - still relaxed but not so loose that it swamped me.

It's a fairly easy sew. The fact that is has no fastenings such as buttons or a zip means that a beginner sewist could progress onto this without any problems.

The only changes that I made were to add pockets, as the pattern does not come with them, and I also added a gathered tier at the bottom of the skirt because I love a good ruffle/tier and why not?

I would recommend this pattern to all. It's cute, easy to fit, and a very wearable style.

My full blog post with all the details and more pictures can be found over on my website if you click here.

Happy sewing, Kathy x

I sewed a view C with the keyhole in the front, no collar, and no lining.

My current measurements are Bust=39″, Waist=35″, Hips=45″ (and I am 5’10”), but I went by my bust measurements only, as this dress has a lot of ease, especially in the waist and hips. Technically, my bust measurements put me in between a size 12 and 14, but in looking at the finished measurements I decided to go with the size 12.

After making a muslin, I added 1″ to bodice.

The fabric is a starry sheer silk from Mill End.

This isn’t my usual silhouette. I have historically been more of a fit and flare kind of girl, but that could be changing since I am pleasantly surprised by how much I like this dress. The cut of the dress and the silk make for a very comfortable garment. I can add this to my arsenal of secret pajamas!

More details and photos on my blog: http://www.rakeandmake.com/sudley-dress/

I first made a Sudley dress about 10 months ago and it didn’t go so well. After seeing a dress just like it in a store, I was driven to get the pattern back out and have another try. I’m so glad I did as I love this version and got so many compliments when I wore it to work this week.

I made a fair few adjustments to rectify my mistakes last time including quite a bit of length on the skirt, lowering the neckline and a few changes to the sleeves and the approach to the lining. I’m planning my next already and thinking about adding the collar next time!

You can read about my adjustments on my blog post - Oh Sew Fearless - Sudley dress 

I really love this pattern, it's very versatile as you can make it into a top or a dress, there are no tricky fastenings, you can wear it either way around and the fit is really easy so you shouldn't have any fitting issues. The instructions are really easy to follow with clear diagrams.

Just a lovely loose-fitting garment which is great made from anything lightweight like this viscose or even something a bit heavier like a chambray. You can wear it on an easy breezy summers day or with tights layered in the winter.

Classic cut which suits a wide variety of body types.

You can read details of the hacks I made and view more photos on my blog: www.girlcansew.blogspot.com you can also find me on instagram @girlcansew