Tessuti's Pia Dress - for winter

The design feature that I liked most when I first saw the Pia dress pattern was the pockets. I had made a couple of versions of Tessuti's Eva dress earlier this year, so I knew that their patterns were flattering and easy to wear as well as great to sew. The pattern instructions said that it was suitable for linens, medium weight cottons and lightweight wools. The 'lightweight wools' got me thinking about using some lightweight wool in my stash and making this dress work for winter. The fabric I used was from an Alannah Hill end bolt that I bought at Clear It in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy a couple of years ago.

I tried very hard to match the vertical stripes where the bodice met the skirt. It's not perfect but I can live with it. I made the dress in size L and made a very small dart at the front armholes to stop the gape. I top-stitched the seam allowances at the shoulder to strengthen the shoulder seam because of the weight of the fabric. As with the Eva pattern, I found the length just a little too long so used 4 cm hem allowance rather than the suggested 1.2 cm. For the neck and arm hole bias bindings, I made them from a black lining fabric rather than the fashion fabric so as to reduce bulk.

The back has a centre seam which you can leave out by cutting the back on the fold, but I liked having the seam as I think it gives the dress more structure.
And here is the Pia dressed for winter. I was so happy when I found a fine knit woollen jumper that not only matched the colour of the vertical stripes but also had a cowl neckline.

This outfit will be getting a lot wear this winter.