I've been trying to find a long-sleeved knit dress pattern for a while now. I have the Wren and the Moneta, both of which can be long-sleeved, but neither of them were right. The Wren seems to need extremely specific fabric to work well for me, and while I like and wear my Moneta, it's not quite enough to make me want any more of them. When the Cashmerette Turner pattern was released I bought it more or less immediately; I would have preferred it to have another neckline option but I was swayed by the built-in FBA.
This fabric is another one from The Textile Centre. It's a light sweater knit-type fabric and it's super soft. Also it was on sale for £2 per metre, and you can't knock that. I got the whole dress out of two metres, including the lining (though I did have to piece that together rather than cutting it on the fold).
The dress was super easy to put together. I cut it out one evening and made it up in a couple of hours the next morning. The bodice is lined, which means no awkward neckline finishing and makes it warmer for winter, and the skirt has a bit of volume without any gathering at the waist. I like both these things.
I really like the fit in the bodice. Doing an FBA on a knit bodice always seems like more trouble than it's worth (unless it's a surplice or some such), so I never do, but this fits so much better. It's been a while since I've worn anything this low cut and while I don't hate it, I am still occasionally surprised by the visible cleavage when I look down. However, for future versions I will definitely lengthen the bodice by an inch or two. This is SUPER short and I don't quite like the way it makes the skirt hang. That's an easy fix, though.
This is my new favourite winter dress for sure. I was all set to make another one immediately afterwards, and sitting all cut out and ready on my sewing table is a blue version which barely stretches at all and will be unpleasantly constricting if I ever try to make it into a dress. Hmph. But another version is definitely coming soon. Two more of these and that's winter sorted.
Still not doing so well at pretending it's not balls cold. I might have to put a temporary stop to outdoor photos.
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