Holly’s Winter Floral Romy Dress!
The past couple of years have made me realise, (among many things) that I need more jersey dresses in my life. I’m not quite sure why I don’t sew them more often as I don’t have that many in my wardrobe, yet I reach for them in the chillier months again and again!
So it was with this in mind that I decided to make another Romy Dress by Tilly and the Buttons (currently only available up to a bust size 44″ and a hip size 47″ although I believe there are plans to extend the size range of this pattern at some point). I made one a couple of years ago and I really love the style and how it fits me. It’s semi-fitted at the shoulders and chest and looser fitting at the waist and hips. There is a top or a dress option with additional variations for an interesting bow tie detail at the back, or a plain back version. You can also make it with various different sleeve lengths.
I decided on the bow tie version as I’m a sucker for a cute detail. I also opted for long sleeves as I knew I’d be wearing this more often in colder weather. The fabric I chose from Felicity’s was a beautiful floral cotton jersey. It has a really dark but not quite black background, the pattern is printed on the fabric so the reverse is white. It has very pretty yellow, red and blue flowers all over it, a good stretch and is very soft to touch. Cotton jersey is a perfect fabric choice for the Romy as it holds the slightly boxy fit well whilst being thin enough to make a nice tie bow at the back.
I decided to stick with the size I made previously which was the size 1. This is slightly below my actual measurements but there’s a bit of ease in the Romy and I was happy with how my first one fitted so I went with this again.
I initially thought I’d sew with black thread for this make but it was actually way to dark against the background of the fabric. I ended up going with a really dark navy which seemed to blend in the best. There is also a direction to this fabric so I checked and double checked I had all my pieces up the right way before cutting out!
The instructions are in the usual Tilly style: comprehensive, clear and with excellent images to guide you through. I took the time to baste the sleeves in and baste the side seams together so I could have a proper try on before sewing it up for real. The instructions mention when to do this and I would highly recommend it as it’s so much easier at this point then to tweak the fit of the back if necessary. I was happy with how it looked and fitted after an initial try on so away I went with the final seams!
I ended up chopping 8cm off the hem so it hit just above my knee. It would have been a touch too long otherwise. This dress is super comfortable, I’m so glad I opted for long sleeves as it’s still quite cold here at the minute. I love the bow detail at the back and I’m pleased with how it looks. The fabric I think works really well for this pattern, I think I’ll mostly be wearing this with leggings and boots but can also see this in it’s own with some trainers and sunglasses. I’m hoping it’ll be nice and versatile to wear at lots of points in the year.
Happy sewing,
Holly x
