Cissy Dress x Homer & Howells
This post is my honest opinion using a pattern I received free of charge from Homer & Howells.
I’d be willing to bet that most of us, at some point in our lives, have been told that there are colors or styles they “can’t wear”. One piece outfits, cropped pants, cuffed pants, cap sleeves, the color yellow….all of these are supposed to be my fashion no-no’s.
The cool thing about sewing, though (or perhaps, just learning to not care so much about what other’s think), is that we get to reclaim these off limits items and wear them any way we like. So even though I’ve always been told I shouldn’t wear yellow, I made myself a yellow dress—and I freaking love it!
This is the Cissy Dress from Homer & Howells, another up and coming pattern company that focuses on “understated British styling”. Their designs are modern and sophisticated, featuring a fresh take on classic pieces. I was drawn to the shape and versatility of the Cissy dress and totally fell in love with the yellow sample on their website—I just had to make my own with a yellow wool crepe I had in my stash.
Wool crepe is one of my favorite fabrics and it worked perfectly for this dress. Its really easy to sew but has beautiful drape, and its a great all weather fabric. I had been saving this wool crepe from the Sewing Workshop for a few months for the perfect dress and this pairing is just too good.
Cissy is a boxy midi dress with a boat neck and deep pleats. It is designed with longer sleeves but I chose to shorten them for my own preference (annnnnd to squeeze this dress out of the 2yds of fabric I had). My measurements had me between sizes 18 and 20 (US 14 and 16) but because its designed to be boxy, I went with the larger size just to be safe. In the future I would probably be fine with the smaller of the two sizes.
Here are the other adjustments I made:
Moved the bust dart up 1”
shortened the bodice 1.5” (I’m 5’1”)
Did a 1/2” narrow shoulder adjustment (another common adjustment for me)
Did a 3” hem instead of the instructed 4cm. I love deep hems!
Making a Homer & Howell’s pattern for the first time was very enjoyable. The instruction booklet is clear and information is easy to find. There’s also plenty of guidance given regarding sizing, maximizing fabric with the cutting layout, and prepping pieces with techniques like stay stitching and edge finishing, all yielding a beautiful product. Seam allowances do change throughout assembly depending on the particular seam, but those are all clearly stated in the instructions and are included in the pattern pieces. But if you need to make adjustments, I would double check the instructions to make sure you’re accounting for the different seam allowances.
I’m so thrilled with how this dress turned out. Its so versatile and can be worn casually or gussied up, and most importantly, it makes me happy when I’m wearing it—but then again, how could I not be happy covered in fabric sunshine? I’m also really excited to see what more Homer & Howells has in store for us in the coming months. They’ve got a couple of pattern previews on their website and I can’t wait for them to come out—I mean, how cool is that minimal boilersuit!
If you’ve got a favorite color or style that you’ve always wanted to wear but were told you “can’t”, I say, this is the week to go for it! Sew what makes you happy.
