BHL Love. The Elisalex!

And another By Hand London garment has been cranked out of the sewing room. 

Which brings the total up to 3 in as many weeks, yee ha! 

Today we have the Elisalex...

This frock was made to be put on display in the fabric store that I work in. We had a bunch of jacquards in big and bold prints. As soon as I saw this one I heard my inner sewing voice scream "Elisalex, ELISALEX!!!". So I did what I was told and ran home to the By Hand London Pattern that had been lurking in the stash, awaiting a fabric match.

The mannequin that was to be dressed in this dress is almost the same size as me except a little bit smaller in the bust (...bitch), so I made this one up straight outta the envelope to fit her snugly. And this was such a dream to sew. Nothing too difficult. Some darts here and there and some gigantic pleats, an invisible zipper. 

On went the iron and the tunes and I got into the zone. You know the sewing zone I'm talking about right? The one in which you get super focused and work like a well oiled machine and the hours pass in what seems like seconds...Thank goodness this happens in my sewing life, because this sure as hell does not happen in my real life. Focus is not my strong point, must be an attention deficit in there somewhere... Look a blue car!

This fabric had its ups and downs. 

Con: Did not like the iron. No matter how much I pressed and steamed, it just didn't want to sit flat. So the side seams are just a little bit cave-y in-y. 

Pro: The body and stiffness of the fabric made the pleats look fabbo. Perfect for big-ass pleats. Tick!

Con: It's 100% polyester...something I usually shy away from. I overheat and die in this stuff I tells ya. I hate it more than carrot top. So bad!

Pro: The colour and print was too good to not wear due to the devil fibre content...

So that's the way the Elisalex cookie crumbles.

Pattern: By Hand London Elisalex

Fabric: Poly Jacquard, Cotton Voile lining.

Notions: Invisible zipper

Time: Sunday afternoon (approx. 289 songs on iTunes)

I love love love the shape of this dress. So flattering. It is so feminine and classy, perfect for dinners and weddings and... well just life in general. 

I'm a fan, what can I say!

Look how big this skirt really is!

Ps. Just a side note... My lovely man has a new lensbaby lens on his camera. He was having a play with it for this photo shoot. Look at all that creative blurriness!

Over and out!

xx