If you haven’t heard by now, the new Tilly and the Buttons book Stretch came out last week! This new book is all about sewing knits and is especially good for beginners or people who’ve just been too scared to try them in the past. It includes 6 patterns for some great basics that would be great for any wardrobe.
It was a particularly exciting moment for me because I MODELLED IN IT! Crazy right!! (I apologise if you’re seeing my face everywhere by the way…)
I also tested 5 out of the 6 patterns last summer and I have been dying to share them ever since!
I’ve put a (very biased) vlog review of the book up on YouTube which you can check out here if you’d rather watch than read!
Today though, I’m sharing my Freya dress with you!
So the Freya is one of patterns that comes with the book. It has several versions – a sweater with a mock turtleneck, a dress with an a-line skirt and options for a full turtleneck and a cowl neck. There’s also a tutorial for adding a ruffle detail to the neckline. It’s definitely been an Instagram favourite and when I was at the book launch party there were at least 5 people (including me!) wearing the Freya in various formats!
I made a hacked version of the dress for my Freya. I decided that I wasn’t so keen on the a-line skirt (it’s not a great look with my hips!) but I loved the idea of making a winter appropriate dress.
Instead of using the dress pattern that comes into the book, I took the sweater pattern and extended it down from the hip (draw a line parallel to the centre fold and a long as you want your skirt to be!) to create a slim fitted pencil skirt that came out just below the knee.
It’s such an easy way to change the pattern to yet another style!
I made mine out of a thick polyester striped rib knit jersey in a pink/ burgundy colourway. Burgundy has definitely been my colour of the season!
I love the look of this dress. It’s feels like a modern twist on a retro look – I kind of want to have my hair in a French twist and wear thick rimmed cat eye glasses with it… I really need a version in black that I can just live in all winter long!
I have a feeling we’ll all be seeing a lot more Freyas in the weeks to come!
