Author: Alice in the Polka Dot Palace

I’ve made a few By Hand London Flora dresses; the pattern is a few years old but the square neckline is bang on trend, and there’s so much scope for pattern hacking to make the design your own. From denim to red gingham to a mixed-scale dotty version, my Flora dresses have been worn so many times.

Sadly, the black and white one hasn’t fared too well*. The straps are fraying where I trimmed the seam allowance too close, and the shape seems to have sagged a bit where the weight of the skirt has pulled the bodice. I still wear the dress frequently, in fact, I’m wearing it right now! However, I felt that a new improved version was on the cards. I made some tweaks to the design, and added some extra steps for durability, so read on for the details…

Better late than never, here’s a review of my 2021 sewing projects! I decided against joining in with Make Nine last year, but what did appeal to me was Patsy Poo’s sewing bingo:

It may be cheating, but I’ve grouped mine together, so some projects tick more than one box.  

Print, Separates, a First and a Repeat