Excuse the wierd expressions, my husband was making me laugh lol. I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it and immediately started looking for fabric. I ended up going with Amata Tie Dye Batiks 100% cotton voile in Deep Cobalt. This is a wonderfully soft lightweight cotton that feels comfortable on the skin and drapes beautifully. This last point is important because there is a lot of fullness in that skirt and I didn't want to look like a billboard or overheat! The pattern calls for 370 x 150cm, but I ended up using 3m of the 5m I purchased.
Like others that have posted on Facebook about this pattern I was initially confused about the dimensions of the fabric for the tiers. At a first glance the pattern says a code and then "X 1" twice, and my brain took that as 1 piece for the tier but written in two languages. As a Canadian we often have things written in English and repeated in French so this was a default assumption on my part. Also, the piece is cut on the fold and the dimensions are in cm while my old brain still thinks in inches so I figured all was well. Other posters mentioned making adjustments because it wasn't wide enough for the hips, and still I didn't clue in. It wasn't until I started drafting the bodice for my muslin that I took a good look at the codes and saw "ADRR 1X DDRR 1X"; that means that you cut 1 piece for the front and then 1 piece for the back. As the pieces are identical I think it would have been a lot less confusing for them to write "cut 2" but there it is. So I did cut two and Holy Hannah that's a lot of gathering! But I am so pleased with the result.
Adjustments
After making the muslin I had to extend the back shoulders on the neck edge by 3/8" or so to match the angle of the front shoulders and bring it forward slightly. I also had to do the same to the back sleeve sideseam. I don't know if this is a problem with my drafting or an issue with Lutterloh patterns on me; I try to be so careful with placing my dots but you are using a flexible tape lined up with a tiny dash and it is possible my marks are slightly off. I'm thinking perhaps I will enlarge the pattern next time to see if that doesn't give me more accurate results. I've only made knit sleeveless tops with Lutterloh so far so it hasn't been an issue.
After making that adjustment to the sleeve back I also noticed that there seemed to be more fabric on the front side. This didn't make sense to me as you'd need more fabric on the back to be allow room to reach forward so with that logic in mind I put the sleeves in the opposite armholes so that the back was front and front was back. Makes sense, right? In my defense I've only ever made patterns with sleeves from the big 4 pattern companies and they are always more symmetrical to my mind.
Anyway, after trying it on, thinking well it's a bit puffy in the back but it IS a puffy sleeve, I serged the seam allowances off. THEN I found
this post from the "Come Sew Lutterloh With Me" blog. OMGosh that makes so much more sense! I will leave the sleeves as they are because I doubt many people will pick up on them being backwards and because it would be a nightmare to re-gather them and re-insert them in the correct armholes after serging, but I definitely need to remember this for the next Lutterloh garment with sleeves.
I omitted the buttons and sewed up the front as done in this wonderful video out of Germany. The dress pulls over my head without needing to undo the front, although you do have to be a little bit of a contortionist. Some may find it easier to extend the button band down into the first tier to make it easier to get into. I also used her method to do the neckband. I don't speak German but the video is so well done that you don't need to understand what she is saying.
I'm 5'7" and I did the lengths as written. I didn't add anything to the length of the bodice even though that is an adjustment I usually need to make in big 4 patterns because I find Lutterloh patterns are usually long enough for me. I didn't even add seam allowances between the tiers although I did add an inch to the bottom tier for the hem which I did as a double 1/4" fold. I am really happy with the finished length on me.
The final change I made was to add side seam pockets. I've done this with all the skirts I've made lately and I now feel lost without them. I've done the "fly by the seat of my pants" method up until now but this time I dug out my copy of "
Vogue/Butterick Step-By-Step Guide to Sewing Techniques". Instead of sewing the pockets at the 5/8" seam they have you sew them at a 1/4" seam. Then when the pocket is pressed inside the seam is 3/8" inside the pocket. I found this gave a less bulky edge and a neater finish. I just drew up my own pattern piece using my splayed hand as a template but I'm sure you could just draw the pocket piece from another pattern. I am really happy with how they turned out and having a place to stash my cellphone.
Although they blend in so well I have a hard time finding them sometimes! lol One last thought on side seam pockets; they are much easier to put in as you sew the skirt than as an afterthought after all the seams are done. I found this out with a green circle skirt I recently made that I still need to blog about.
I interfaced the collar and button band, and finished all seams with serging to keep the inside nice and neat.
All in all I am really happy with this dress. I'm thinking about making it with just the top tier as a smock top.
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