Tag Archives: Hannah Dress

Near and Far Rayon Fabric from Sew to Grow

Featuring: Hannah Dress

Rayon is my favourite fabric for spring and summer. It’s so soft, has beautiful drape and stays cool and comfortable in the heat of the warmer seasons. It’s also super absorbent so it’s great when the humidity of summer sets in. I was so excited to be invited to collaborate on the re-launch of the Near and Far Fabric Collection from Sew to Grow. I adore the beautifully vibrant Oeko-Tex certified fabrics featured in the collection. I’m sewing “Market Place” which is reminiscent of Lindsey’s travels to many marketplaces on her travels. 

I’ve matched the Hannah Dress with the rayon fabric because the fullness of the gathered skirt required a floaty and drapey fabric. Usually, patterns that need something breezy and loose are the best match for this fabric. It is great for summer because of its softness and how breathable it is. These are all features of the Near and Far Rayon. It is a bit heavier at 150gsm (normally rayon sits at 113 gsm to 142 gsm) which, in my opinion, gives even better drape. I noticed that there is a twill weave in this rayon which gives the fabric more strength compared to a plain weave.

To begin my sew, I made sure that I washed my fabric. Rayon can shrink and it’s not a fabric that recovers well (you can’t rewash and re-stretch it after). I also overlocker my fabrics before washing but you can choose to skip this step if you wish. I tend to airdry my fabrics but if your dryer has a cool setting, you could also risk putting it in the dryer. I then go over the fabric on the wrong side of the fabric with the iron. I must be especially careful as my iron only has one heat setting and if you overheat rayon fabric on the right side, you could leave a shiny residue on the fabric. I was really happy to note that there was no shrinkage after the cold wash and the fabric remained brilliantly colourfast!

Next, I made sure that I inserted a sharp new needle. I used a 10/70 needle to avoid snags in my fabric. The Hannah Dress is a gorgeous wrap dress from By Hand London. This required a bit of staystitching on the wrap front and the back neckline. It’s a good idea to staystitch when you use rayon because it can stretch out when you’re sewing. A great feature of rayon is the drape of the fabric, but it also means that you need to stabilise the fabric. It’s the same treatment you would give for fabrics sewn on the bias. 

The other tip when sewing with rayon is to make sure you transfer all your markings accurately and you need to use as many pins as it takes to match your markings. This was the case when I was fitting the sleeve to my Hannah Dress. I’m making the dress with the bishop sleeves this time and I found that I had to ease in the sleeve fabric to ensure that the markings matched up. You can also sew a line of gathering stitches to help ease the sleeve in, but it was easy enough to use some pins.

Next, I used the fabric to make some biased binding for the neckline and front bodice. This was my first experience of making bias binding using the continuous method. This is by far the best way to do it! 

Bias binding

Overall, I can honestly say that sewing with the Near and Far Rayon from Sew to Grow did not disappoint. All my pattern pieces stayed in shape, and it was enjoyable to sew with. It has a beautiful quality with the slightly heavier weight. Wearing the rayon is even better. I love the drape and here are some pictures from the Spring Festival! Oh! Final tip, don’t forget to let it hang for a day or two before finishing the hem.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Full Disclosure: Fabric was gifted in exchange for review and sponsored Instagram Post but all opinions are my own.

Hannah Dress

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.

Worn for a day out at King’s Park

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!

Bias binding for neckline

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.

Close up of the Hannah Dress

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