Holy hiatus, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared anything with you guys. I’m so sorry! Between looking for a house and actually moving, things got a little crazy there for a bit. In my defense, I’d actually had this done for a bit, but (obviously) wanted to wait for the pattern release to talk about it. The pattern is The Poppy Dress and Top from By Hand London, and I’m super stoked to talk about it, let’s get into it.

Poppy is a knit pattern, very much of the “secret pajamas” type. I’ve dressed it up for work and dressed it down to walk the dogs, it really is very versatile in that way. I made both the t-shirt (with the short sleeve option) and the midi version, but there is also a maxi version I’m dying to try out. The pattern features really lovely box pleats on the sleeves, and fish eye darts for waist shaping. As a tester, I omitted the fish eye darts on my versions.

For both the dress and shirt, I used this super soft, very cozy Merino jersey in Marsala graciously provided by The Fabric Store. Easily the most expensive fabric I’ve ever sewn, I can honestly say it’s worth it. Though it is a very lightweight knit, it sews beautifully and I didn’t have the usual struggles with it getting sucked into my machine. It seems to hold it’s shape, as well, without bagging out or “growing” as the day goes on. So nice!

Poppy is fairly easy to sew, but in full honesty, I struggled with the neckline. I’ve never sewn a neckband in knit, and just could not get it to lay flat! Talking to other sewists, it really seems like this is just my in experience. The current version is much better than my first attempts, but still not great. This pattern also marked my first attempt at using the double needle on my machine. I know that seems odd, but I’ve truly been terrified of it! I completely convinced myself I was going to do irreparable damage to my machine, somehow. Folks, I am an idiot. Using a double needle is super easy and gives a nice little bit of stretch to the hem. WHY HAVE I BEEN FINISHING KNITS WITH A SINGLE NEEDLE!?! Dumb dumb dumb.

I kinda wish I’d sewn the fish eye darts, they’re what attracted me to the pattern in the first place. Maybe I’ll attempt to add them, but even without them, I seriously get comments on this every time I wear it. That’s high praise for a dress I’ve gotten drunk and slept in more than once! I hope you consider the Poppy, and I look forward to sharing more with you soon, maybe without a two month gap. Happy sewing 🙂