Tilly and the Buttons Bettine in rayon

I have just finished the very speedy and easy make that is the Bettine dress from Tilly and the Buttons. Bettine is my 3rd T&TB pattern. I also had a go at a Miette skirt in denim (worn loads- definite wardrobe  staple) and more recently a very bright stripy Agnes top. I’m not counting the mostly finished  Coco lurking in my unfinished projects pile.

I made this one as a sort of wearable toile to check the fit and it turned out really well. The fabric came from the Remnant Kings sale and was a complete bargain when I bought it. It’s a lightweight viscose with a lovely bird print and feels great to wear- perfect summer dress fabric.

The only changes I made to the pattern were to grade from a 3 to a 4 at the waist and to add the option of a bit more length on the sleeves I cut them to the length of the largest size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I removed a  tiny bit at the neckline as I cut the front bodice too. I usually have issues with gaping at the neck but not with the Bettine- great fit on the bodice and shoulders with no alterations needed.

The fabric was a bit all over the place so I spray starched it to make it easier to work with. The construction was really straightforward. I had some extra fabric on the front facing for some reason so had to adjust a bit there. I skipped the topstitching around the neckline and just hand-stitched the facing to the shoulder seams. So far so good- no peeping facing and a nice clean finish to the neckline.

The bodice and skirt fitted together well. I pinned them at the edges instead of at 1.25″, which is the stitching line. This gave me some excess fabric when I got to the final section which was easily sorted by unpicking and realigning on the stitching line. Next time (there will definitely be a next time) I’ll pin on the stitching line and probably hand baste it first to get a nice precise finish.

I ran into a bit of bother getting the elastic through the waistband casing at the pockets despite the basting stitches holding them in place. It was quickly solved by opening a couple of inches at each pocket and giving the elastic a helping hand on it’s way through then restitching those small sections.  The elastic made fitting and finishing the waist really easy, the pattern instructions are very helpful here.

I didn’t want to make the dress any shorter so I used a quarter inch 3 thread overlock to finish the bottom edge, folded up another  quarter inch and stitched it down. I’ll add an inch and a half to the length next time to give me more length to play with and so I can hand finish the hem.

I also used the overlocker to finish all the inside edges with a three thread narrow stitch- same settings as my rayon BHL Anna.

The tabs are a lovely detail and easy to do…

As are the pockets- they have a clever construction method and give a nice shape to the skirt…

All in all- great pattern and instructions, really quick to put together, easy fitting and a joy to wear!