I love colourful things and when I saw this Sally Kelly Paradiso fabric at a local fabric shop, I had to have it. It’s the most expensive fabric I’ve ever bought and felt like a bit of a leap of faith for my skills but I decided to just go for it, what’s the worst that could happen?! I decided to make the Tilly and the Buttons Lyra dress. I’d made this pattern a couple of times before but never out of “good” fabric, more like wearable toiles, and that unfortunately showed in how happy I was with the outcomes. I’m so pleased with how this turned out, I think it might be my dress of dreams! There’s been an important lesson here for me about the quality of fabric I use, and how my makes turns out as a result and I think I’ll aim to make fewer good quality things in future rather than feeling disappointed in myself for not making enough pieces.
I really took my time with this and made notes along the way for next time, making a few small tweaks, like leaving the top button off because I’ll never fasten it, making the hem really shallow because I liked the added length, adding belt loops made from my fabric, and making the belt thicker for a chunkier bow.
The same shop had some Liberty fabric and now I feel like a summer Lyra might be in order too!
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