I’m deeming this the summer of the wrap dress. I love how comfortable they are to wear, and how easy they are to make. They’re super flattering, and can expand a bit if I go too hard with the snacks, which I absolutely will do. They can be fabric hogs, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Orsola isn’t such a fabric hog, she comes in around 4 1/2 yards I think, including lining. Not too shabby!

I was super stoked when I got the email about this pattern! The back is just the perfect little bit of sexy. Originally, I’d planned to make this with a sari I’d ordered of Ebay. HOWEVER, that thing was straight up hot garbage. The fabric felt like that Halloween costume fabric, if you know what I mean, and upon washing, the fabric dye bled everywhere. Straight to the garbage with that! Bless Amazon and this lovely Cotton + Steel fabric! In two days, I had a gorgeous rayon, though I kinda wish I’d gone for the dark blue. The only trouble was that I’d stupidly ordered three yards. There was NO fabric for the lining! Last minute shopper that I am, I had zero time to make it to the only store in my city to carry this fabric. Soooo I ended up at Joann, and boy was that a mistake. Somehow, they had no solid black rayon challis, weird, right? I ended up with a polyester crepe, much to my disappointment. Oh well, moving on…

Orsola sews up fairly easily, though you should be prepared for quite a few darts! I’ve never minded darts, but if you do, prepare yourself, because it has about 18. Orsola also features a fully lined bodice, and a skirt facing. I’ve never sewn a skirt facing before, and I was skeptical. I loathe facings, they’re floppy and annoying and should be avoided at all costs. That said, I actually like this one. It adds a bit of weight to the hem, and it seems to help it lay prettily. I opted for the tulip skirt version, which is really not much of a change for the straight skirt. I also failed to understitch the bodice lining, which was DUMB. DUMB DUMB DUMB. Bad self.

I had some picture taking woes with this one, but luckily my friend Michelle and her lovely wife stepped up and shot them for me, some of the photos feature their absolutely adorable daughter, Tiger Lily, so don’t be confused by the child. She was so fun! Afterward, we had a bit of a watergun fight, my eyeliner was a bit worse for the wear lol! Photo dump below, I hope you enjoy Orsola, I’m looking forward to making many more. Happy sewing 🙂