A Stitching Odyssey: Chintzy Floral Lilou Dress

You caught a cheeky little glimpse of her at Tilly's book launch and I'm now excited to show her off in full! I'm talking about my Lilou Dress of course, which is arguably the most advanced pattern of the seven featured in Love at First Stitch.

The Lilou Dress is only advanced in comparison to the other patterns in the book, so please don't let this description put you off! It's actually a very simple dress to stitch together, made super easy by Tilly's crystal clear instructions and illustrations. In case you're wondering, I stitched mine up in a straight Size 3, but decreased my seam allowances to 1cm from the armhole to the bust dart. Call me lazy if you want, but it got me out of an FBA situation so ner, ner, ner, ner, nerrrrrrr!

The original pattern is for a round-neck bodice and a pleated skirt, but Tilly includes variations for a scalloped neckline and a gathered skirt - ensuring that this is a highly versatile little frock. For my first Lilou (a second is already in the pipeline) I opted for the scalloped neckline and pleated skirt, a combo I truly adore! My scallops are fairly shallow and fluid, but because Tilly gives you the tools to draft them yourself, you have the power to design them exactly how you want to!

The instructions don't require any topstitching, but I opted to do so for my neckline and armholes as I couldn't bear the thought of unsightly lining peeking out! I decreased my stitch length to better navigate the curves and I don't think it detracts from the overall effect, so I'm pretty happy with the finish.

The bodice is lined in the same clever way I recently discovered with my Emery Dress, but it's still not my favourite method. This time I took steps to avoid the lining getting caught in the zip, like not stitching it too closely to the zip and aggressively pressing it with the iron. This seems to have worked a tad better at least and it sure does looks neat.

Other than the sweet scalloped neckline, I really love the pleated skirt! More specifically, I'm a huge fan of the pleat placement. Instead of going all the way round, the pleats are only placed off-centre, eliminating unwanted bulk from the tummy area. I find that even gathered skirts can sometimes be unflattering around the tummy area, so this style is a great compromise.

I know by this point you're probably dying to know more about my chintzy, floral fabric. Am I right? I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you if you want some for yourself, because it's an old pair of curtains from a local charity shop - the St Michael brand was ditched for Marks & Spencer back in 2000, but the quality of this medium-weight cotton is so lovely!

Are you as much of a fan of Tilly's Lilou Dress as I am? Which version would you make?