First up in my duet of winter knit dresses is this amazing knit cowl dress that fellow sewist Lauriana drafted for me(!!!) this summer. Whilst designing this, she not only correctly observed my size, but also that I adore cowl necks and assymetrical details, and gave me the option for a sleeveless or sleeved version! She’s the best! Since I’m in dire need of comfortable winter dresses, I opted to go for long sleeves this time around, but I would definitely make this again for summer without them.
I made it up in some luscious Dolce & Gabbana viscose knit that I bought at Ditto Fabrics HQ in Brighton in June. It’s been in my stash just waiting for the perfect pattern match, and since it’s such a crazy, busy print, I thought this pattern with both front and back on the fold would be great for keeping the swirled dots intact.
Here’s a detail shot of those side gathers:
I absolutely love the cowl neck she’s put on this dress – it sits perfectly without revealing too much, or flipping the edge out, or laying in a weird way like some cowls do, and it just feels elegant when I’m wearing it. This photoshoot is only slightly delayed, but I’ve already worn this dress out twice – to Thanksgiving dinner and James’s birthday dinner, and felt like a star both times. It’s super comfortable, nice and warm, and really easy to wear. I think I’d also like it with a big chunky black belt, too, so I’ll need to keep my eyes open in the January sales.
Shameless vote grubbing
If you’re a Pattern Review member, please consider voting for my “Prada meets Patrones” top in the PR Wool contest! To help jog your memory, it’s this one that was not only in a different language, but was so complicated I had to make a paper model first to wrap my head round its unique construction!
I’ve entered loads of PR contests but never, ever won, so please head over there and vote if you’re a member!