Lisette Passport Dress

Today I made a Lisette passport dress. Lisette patterns are by Liesl Gibson who also has the gorgeous Oliver + S brand. I discovered them on Nova’s blog inspired by her portfolio dress – also on my list!

The pattern was pretty straight forward and easy, although I have been making clothes since I was in high school. I love the design of the dress – in particular the crossover dart on the front of the bodice (not that easy to see in the photo).

I used fabric from the Alice Kennedy Portobello range from Hawthorne Threads. Even though it’s probably meant as quilt fabric the weight and drape is perfect for this dress.

I’m pretty happy with it, not over the moon but it’s a nice Summer dress that I can take away on holiday with me.

It never ceases to amaze me how on earth they come up with dress pattern sizes. When you check your measurements against those listed on dress patterns I always manage to be a combination of 3 different sizes! It drives me crazy! I usually make a size bigger than what I would buy in the shops, although with the Passport dress I had to reduce my seam allowances and the back darts to ensure it wasn’t too small. Or was it the nice passionfruit sponge cake I had for afternoon tea?

If I made this dress again I would change the armholes and replace the bias binding that is stitched down (the turquoise bits in the photo) with proper facing. Maybe make the neck and arm facing as all one peice. Or even better line the bodice so the whole thing easily flips inside out and hides all the seams too.

If you are interested there’s a SewLisette group on flickr. The Lisette range of patterns are lovely and worth a try – happy sewing.