[Gifted pattern and fabric in exchange for an honest review]

I love a full length fancy evening dress and for me the newest pattern from Deer and Doe, the Circée wrap dress and skirt pattern, firmly lands in that category. I could tell immediately that this pattern would make for the most wonderful glamorous outfit – the full length a line skirt and those sleeves!

I decided to not beat around the bush and pretend this is going to be an everyday kind of dress and just went for some proper glitz when picking my fabric. I opted for the sandwashed satin from Sew Me Sunshine in terracotta which has the most lovely shimmery quality to it. It’s 100% polyester which I normally try to avoid these days but I figured for something I’ll wear once in a blue moon and that’ll rarely get washed it’s probably ok? (Let’s not pull too hard at the eco/ sustainability thread here…)

And I was right! It pretty much fit like a glove straightaway! There’s a little excess fabric on my right shoulder but that’s a construction issue on my part, not a pattern issue and should be easily solved by resetting the sleeve when I get around to it.

I had just a short amount of time to make my version of this dress (the perils of adulting!) so there was no time to toile and dilly dally. I made the same changes I’ve always made to my Deer and Doe makes and took 1.5cm out from the bodice length and chopped off the skirt length by 10cm. I had a feeling from looking at the pattern pieces that the fit would be similar enough to the much beloved Deer and Doe Magnolia pattern so I felt confident that these changes would be enough! (You check out my Magnolia dresses here and here!)

I made a couple of alterations to the pattern itself because did I even make a pattern if I didn’t hack it? I opted to ignore the waist ties and use cover buttons in the spirit of the skirt version to close the waist. I thought it felt more elegant and gave a neater finish. Also I was acutely aware that the slippery satin fabric would likely not hold a bow very well!

I used the Prym 19mm cover button kit for my first time making self covered buttons and it was a doddle to use. I was pretty pleased with them!

I also made the front skirt pieces fractionally narrower than the pattern asked for. The pieces were about an inch wider than my fabric was when folded in half so I opted to cheat and just reduce the front wrap slightly. This had the added benefit of having the front edge on the straight grain making it less likely to distort when attaching the binding. It doesn’t affect the overall shape of the skirt either!

As gorgeous as this slippery satin is, it’s a small nightmare to press in a hurry! Whenever this dress has its debut, I’ll be sure to spend the time pressing it to an inch of its life! I just need to find a fabulous party to wear it to now!