Love! Bettine Dress

I love my Bettine! I want to make loads of them now ready for summer. It’s a great pattern for beginners because there are no complicated techniques but you end up with a very satisfying, professional feeling dress!

The instructions are so easy to follow, which is what I need at the moment when my only sewing time is late evenings after I’ve put the little one too bed. I found it a really addictive project. Each evening I did a couple more steps than I ought to have, and stayed up a bit too late. This meant I completed it in about 6 evenings – one evening tracing the pattern; one cutting out the pattern pieces, then cutting out the fabric; one evening stitching the top half of the dress; one evening assembling the cuffs and tabs; one evening putting together the pockets and the bottom half of the dress; and one evening attaching the skirt, inserting the elastic and finally hemming. I think I could get it down to three evenings now I have the pattern pieces and a bit of experience having already made it once.

For me, it was a real confidence boosting project because there was nothing I was unhappy about. From now on, if I have problems with a sewing project I will be coming back and making another Bettine to set me on the right track again!

I decided to make my version with pockets (because pockets!) and the cuff tabs. Including the cuff tabs meant that I could use some colourful buttons, which I think work well with the simple black and white print.

I have written a full blog post on the pattern and my experience of it here.