Demeter as a mini dress

I was able to be part of the testing for the Demeter dress and this is the version I made first. The pattern is designed to be longer, but I know for myself I prefer it shorter, it suits me better and with British weather I can team it with tights, boots and a jumper during the colder months – most of them!

I chose this orange check linen cotton mix, I think that this would work better with an 100% linen or a more drapey fabric as this can be quite stiff. As I make a smaller size, a US 6 I have got this pattern down to just 1m of fabric. I lay the two bodice patterns pieces at the top and I then ignore the skirt pattern piece and just cut a rectangle as wide as the width of the fabric. The pattern calls for 2 panels, that are then gathered in, but I just use whatever fabric I have and just do less gathers and it still looks just as good but saves fabric.

It’s a lovely simple quick sew, the only fiddly bit is the bias binding – not my strong point.

I used the same fabric for the pockets but wish I had used a lighter fabric as it made it a bit bulky. Overall, I love this dress and often wear it paired with a tee or lightweight jumper

If you want to read a full review of the making of the Demeter dress check out my blog:

Sewing – Demeter Dress