Sewaholic Lonsdale – Sewn by Ashley

The sun was in my eyes for all of these, so weird faces are imminent.

Every year at the beginning of spring, I break out my summer dresses and wonder why I haven’t made more from each pattern. Such was the case when I wore my Octopus dress a few weeks ago. The pattern is Sewaholic Lonsdale and my oh my is it amazing. My previous version was in an AMAZING lawn from Cotton & Steel, I’m obsessed with it. The fabric is so soft and feels wonderful, the pattern is super flattering and comfortable. I forgo the strapless bra about half the time with this one, ladies you KNOW that’s an achievement.

Legit almost fell down right after this photo.

So obviously I knew I wanted more of these in my closet. This year I’m all about light, easy summer dresses, see Instagram for further evidence of this growing problem! The problem with wanting an army of lovely summer dresses is that you have to find lovely summer dress fabric. I’ve currently put a halt on my fabric buying, my stash is out of control, so I had to rely on what I have. Thanking my past self, I found this lovely lemon fabric deep in the hoard. It’s the last bit of yardage that remained at my local Joann’s, sadly it’s discontinued. Trust me when I say sadly, I legitamately mourned this fabric. It’s a lovely sateen, much lighter than other sateens. I sewed up a strapless dress in it last summer, and it’s still one of my favorite makes.

The pattern is fairly simple to construct, the instructions are clear and well written. There is a sew along that comes in handy during the trickier parts, like the upper front bodice sections. Tasia, wherever you are, you are brilliant. I always find her patterns so easy to follow and sew alongs so helpful! Anyway, I digress…

Tied the back too tight, loops look weird. Oops.

For this pattern, I cut a size 10. Though Sewaholic patterns are drafted for a pear shape and I’m an hourglass, this dress isn’t fitted through the hips so I didn’t fuss with alterations there. I do find the skirt to be much too long for me, so I did a very lazy alteration there. I cut the skirt length to the smallest size, and did a 1 1/2 inch hem. Also, this pattern is a serious fabric hog, calling for 4 1/2 yards. I didn’t have that, so I cut on a single layer to save fabric. I still came up a little short on fabric though, so the straps are a few inches shorter than drafted.

I am so stoked to have another Lonsdale in my closet! I hated to use up the last of my beloved lemon fabric, but I think it was worth it. What about you, are you in summer sewing mode yet?

I hope you’re all enjoying the Sew Long Summer sewalong!! I know I’ve been having a blast with it. All summer long, I’ve been crushing on and dreaming about this Cotton & Steel fabric. Originally, I had intended to sew up a Burda sunsuit with it, but I’m just not convinced I’ll ever wear it. Enter the Sewaholic Lonsdale dress, which just kinda screamed summer to me.

If you’ve never sewn an indie pattern, I highly suggest you do. The instructions are so much clearer, and fitting issues are minimal. Tasia also has a VERY easy to follow step by step sewalong posted online, so if the instructions ever do trip you up, shes got your back! You can’t go wrong, I’m tellin’ ya.

For this dress, I cut a straight 12, and it’s a pretty good fit. I could stand to take the bodice in a bit, but I fear that would make it too tight. The fabric is a cotton lawn, so there’s absolutely no stretch here. I will warn you, the Lonsdale is a fabric hog. I used a full 4 yards on this one, and that’s with some creative pattern placement. Those cute tie straps connect to the bodice, and they are LONG. Also, the bodice is fully lined, so you need 4 of those suckers. It’s part of what makes the dress so lovely, just make sure you plan for it! A non-sewing related qualm, it’s either a strapless bra or no bra for this one. I hate a strapless bra with a passion usually reserved for telemarketers, so…I felt you deserved a warning.

To sing Tasia’s praises one more time, she understands not wanting to hand stitch. Hand stitching is the worst. It takes forever. My man-sized hands are not made for it. DOWN WITH HAND STITCHING. For the waistband, you have the option of hand sewing it to the skirt, or stitching it “in the ditch”. I, of course, opted to stitch in the ditch, and it looks just fine. It’s also worth noting, this entire dress was sewn with grey thread. The base of this fabric is kind of an odd green color, and I just didn’t have a color to match. Grey thread is a bit magical, it just somehow manages to blend in with everything. It’s a beautiful thing.