My Sewjo had taken a bit of a battering over the winter (major work worries which are now thankfully resolved) I kept chipping away here and there, mainly with quick and easy projects (I made three Sew Over It Heather dresses and lived in them all winter) but the enthusiasm just wasn’t there. I made most of a coat but decided I didn’t like it, I never got around to sewing in the lining which was all there was left to do. I knew it was serious when I decided to have a new year stash diet and didn’t miss buying fabric! It’s taken a few months but I think inspiration has finally returned.

The pattern to rekindle my enthusiasm was unsurprisingly a Deer and Doe; the newly released Myosotis dress. I’m an unashamed Deer and Doe fan girl, in a desert island situation I would quite happily be marooned with just their back catalog and be perfectly content to sew nothing else. They’re a good fit for my body shape, well drafted, everything fits together perfectly and there’s never the need to ‘fudge’ anything. They are basically a real joy to sew (and sewing is supposed to be a joy isn’t it?)

There’ve been a couple of developments with Deer and Doe’s last two collections, the most significant being the availability of patterns in PDF format, which is good news for sewists outside Europe. Another plus has been extending their size range (although the extra sizing is only available in PDF) I think this is a really good move on their part, making the patterns much more accessible and inclusive.

The Myosotis sizing ranges from 32-24-34 to 41-33-43 in the printed pattern and up to 46-38-48 in PDF. Going by the finished measurements (which are true, I measured) there’s basically five inches of ease on top of each size.
I bought the printed pattern rather than the PDF, even though I was an inch or two over the biggest size (my measurements are currently around 42-35-42 depending on my mood and associated level of chocolate consumption) I figured there was plenty of ease so no real danger of it being too tight.

The fabric is a Liberty Lawn called Florence, bought from Standfast and Barracks on our way home from the Lake District two years ago. (I can’t find the same colourway but the brighter version is available here) It very nearly got used last year but it was a half hearted project and I’m glad I hung onto it.
I had two and a half meters, 53 inches wide (sorry for mixing units) and with a bit of creative cutting was left with a piece just a bit bigger than a fat quarter (potentially one pair of knickers and a couple of meters of bias binding) I’ve another version planned but only have two meters of fabric, I think I’ll need to find a contrasting fabric for the facings, pocket bags and under collar.

I opted for view B, the appeal of the plain dress was it’s potential to be another Sureau in my wardrobe, I’ve made four and they’re probably my most worn woven dresses, great in winter with tights and boots or in Spring/Summer with sandals (They’re what I reach for when I can’t decide what to wear)

The dress is straight forward, front facings are topstitched to form the button band with three functional buttons (although it’s easily slipped over the head so could be stitched closed) I used half inch purple mother of pearl, if you want to use bigger buttons you’ll need to increase the distance of topstitching to accommodate them. The stand collar sits nicely and was easy to attach. The skirt is simply gathered (the buttons don’t continue below the waist) and of course, it has pockets. All in all it was quite a quick sew.

So what about the finished dress, did it live up to my expectations? Definitely, it’s the first thing I’ve sewn this year that I’ve really enjoyed and has done the trick with relighting my Sewjo. It’s very ‘me’ and I feel comfortable wearing it. The loose fit is wonderful in the hot weather we’ve been having. I’ve only worn it once so far, I’ve been taking part in Me Made May again this year and have pledged to have no repeat outfits, come June though it will be difficult to get me to take it off!

A nice little extra, as Myosotis is the Latin name for forget-me-nots it’s coincidentally been released as they are flowering. There’s some dotted around in my pictures but I took a close up, they really are one of the prettiest flowers around!