Wrap dresses are the hardest working items in my closet. They’re great for a smart casual outfit or a night out to dinner. Wrap dresses are also a bit more flexible in the fit. I find the Hannah Dress from By Hand London is so flattering on any figure. It was a dream to sew this beautiful pattern.
I chose to sew the Size 10/14 for my measurements of 37-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 38-inch hips. As mentioned, the sizing in a wrap dress is great because there’s some flexibility with the ties. I was very happy with the sizing.
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering if there was any gaping of the neckline. This is a common problem with some wrap tops or dresses but I’m happy to report that there hasn’t been any gaping. I think this is because the neckline of the bodice is finished with bias binding which places tension along the biased edge of the neckline therefore holding the edge neatly. I’m fascinated by the engineering that goes into a making a garment!
The other feature which makes the bodice fit so well is the “rouleaus”. Expanding my vocabulary! Googled it and it means a coil of ribbon, knitted wool or other material. I’ll just call them ties. So, the ties are not threaded through the dress. Instead, there is a pair of internal ties and a pair of external ties. It’s such a neat way of fastening without the need for a hole to pass the tie through.
There are three options of sleeves with this dress. The first is a simple short sleeve which is what I chose to make this time. The second is a tulip sleeve and the third is a bishop sleeve. I usually must make a full biceps adjustment, but I found these sleeves fitted well without adjustments.
The final step of construction was to attach a gathered skirt. This is my favourite feature of the dress. It’s nice to have the volume of the skirt as it accentuates the waist and creates a lovely hourglass silhouette.
The instructions are overall very beginner friendly. The only instructions that could have been a bit clearer was attaching the bias tape to the neckline. When I tried to use the link given for the tutorial, it kept coming up with the error message. I also tried on the By Hand London website and this was also not working. If you get stuck at this step, I found googling, “Attaching double fold bias tape” to be a handy search phrase. I’ll aim to document this when I remake this pattern.
This dress has already had a few outings and will be worn on repeat! I’ve really enjoyed making the Hannah Dress and now want to make all the versions of this beautiful dress.
Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
x Em
Em Sew Happy Blog 