Luxury

Oh my word, I’m so glad that I tried this pattern again. I made my first WilderGown dress 3 years ago in a pink cotton gingham and I wasn’t mad on the finished dress. It felt voluminous and I thought I looked quite shapeless in it (tbh I am).. This version is the polar opposite, luxurious, drapey and feels quite decadent. I bought this ink blue bamboo silk from Raystitch in Islington 2 years ago intending to make a WilderGown top but just hadn’t got around to it. A big birthday and a newly sewn pair of Mitchell trousers motivated me to crack on with it. This time I made the smallest size and the only alteration I made was to shorten the neck keyhole to avoid gaping. I’m happy with the fit and the silk changes the effect of the pattern entirely. A few words on sewing with silk…take it slowly. I used decorators tape to hold the fabric in place whilst I cut the top out using a rotary cutter. I cut out on the flat using weights rather than pins. Use a size 70 needle and shorten the stitch length. Be careful when snipping threads…I managed to nick the front piece but fortunately I had enough spare to recut and resew.