Silk Organza Wrap Top - By Hand London - Hannah Pattern

You know how spicy food is addictive, and the more you eat it the hotter you need it?
Well yeah, that's what's happening with me and big sleeves at the moment.
And I'm not sorry.

The Pattern
It's the Hannah Dress from By Hand London converted into a top!

It's a wrap dress with no notions or lining (a quick sew!) and has three different sleeve options, short, bishop and tulip. I fell in love with the volume of the bishop sleeves and I knew they'd look fabulous in the silk organza.

The dress comes with a gathered skirt, or gathered peplum for a top, but I chose to add a waistband instead - see 'The Details + Changes' below.

Skirt
Also pictured is my self-drafted Balmain inspired skirt, made in a Japanese cotton and fully lined, and you can read more about it here

The Fabric
For this blouse I used the most beautiful warm chocolate brown silk organza from The Cloth Shop Ivanhoe.
As soon as I saw this fabric I knew I had to make some sort of fabulous blouse with it, and when I spied the Hannah pattern, I knew it had met its match!

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Apr 13, 2020 at 1:02pm PDT

Swipe above to see the french seams up close!

The Details + Changes

To achieve the look I was after, I used the bodice of this pattern and added a WAISTBAND.

The top is a WRAP AROUND and I love how it is done up with internal and external ties, so no need for buttonholes or slits.

The ARMSCYE are quite narrow which really appeals to me and my smaller shoulders and arms; I always know I'm going to get a really nice fitted look with BHL patterns. If you need extra room for your arms or shoulders however, you might want to do a toile first before you dive in.

Because this top isn't lined, I FRENCHED ALL the seams, including the armholes (swipe above instagram post to see a close up).

The wrap, SCOOP NECK is flattering and easy to fit, as it can be adjusted as you wear it, which makes this a quick and straight forward make with instant gratification! Most of my sewing projects these days involve slow, hand sewing so this was a real fun and quick project to do.

Instead of ties at the wrists I added elastic for a simple, clean finish.

Final Thoughts

I really love sewing with organza. The body and stiffness, mixed with it's transparency and sheen is such a gorgeous high end mix and will forever be one of my favourite fabrics to choose when I want to make something a little bit 'extra'.

This 'Hannah' is a wonderful, enjoyable pattern, that is both comfortable and glamorous. I'd love to try this pattern again as a dress in a soft, billowy linen and I definitely recommend it if you're thinking about giving it a go!

Jenna Dress - By Hand London

Wait, what is this??!! Julia Bobbin back in a vintage inspired dress? WHO'S THIS?!!!

I recently had the pleasure and honour of pattern testing a new dress for By Hand London and I'm so excited to finally share it with you in all it's emerald glory

The Pattern

'The Jenna Dress' from By Hand London, now available from their website!

This dress is an empire line dress with a bias cut skirt in two lengths. It features two different necklines; a low square neck or a jewel neck with optional peter-pan collar and also comes with two sleeve options: short sleeves or the prettiest little tie cuffs.

I chose Variation 1 with the square neck and tie cuffs, but all versions are interchangeable with each other.

The Fabric

Because of the bias cut of the skirt, this pattern works great with draped fabrics such as soft silks, lightweight cottons and rayon. However I decided to go rogue and use a structured silk organza because I am all about that transparent life and I thought it could look really striking in an unexpected textile.

I used the most stunning emerald silk organza from The Cloth Shop Ivanhoe and I just love how the different layers of organza create the most beautiful variations in colour.

Because of the transparency of this dress, I wore it with a purchased slip dress underneath.

The Details

This dress takes me back to one of my favourite eras for fashion, the 60's.

Generally I tend to avoid empire cut dresses. They typically tend to hide my waistline and with my hour glass figure, hiding the smallest part of my body can sometimes make me look like a block.
However with this skirt being bias cut, it still shapes the waistline and flatters the figure, and would be even more exaggerated in a drapey fabric.

I love the tie details on the sleeves. It's such a pretty and delicate detail to add that elevates the dress from a pretty one to a gorgeous one.

The dress closes with an invisible zipper down the centre back and has a lined bodice which I lined with the same organza fabric.

Where possible, I finished the seams with french seams and overlocked the sleeve seams.

Final Thoughts

This is such a beautifully put together pattern with exceptional attention to detail in the instructions. This pattern is versatile and easily adaptable and I'm already imagining version 2 in a silk velvet!

The team at By Hand London have put a lot of love into this pattern and it shows.