When the Acton dress pattern was launched by In The Folds, I pretty much bought the pattern straight away.
I had a wonderful experience when I made her previous pattern, the Rushcutter, that I was confident this sewing pattern would be great as well.
I needed a dress for the Frocktails event in Sydney and since I knew Emily - the designer - was going to be there, the decision on what to sew was an easy one.
(In case you have never heard of Frocktails: it is a night out for people who love to sew. Everyone wears something handmade, we "ooh" and "aah" over everyone's outfit and fabric choices while sipping cocktails. It's now being organised in several capital cities in Australia.)
The Acton dress pattern offers two versions, I made the dress with the wrapped skirt option.
Emily has a clever way of using the shape of the seam allowance to help you put the pieces together and everything magically falls into place. I can't really explain it, you'll have to try this for yourself.
Sewing this dress made me do some things I had not done before, but I just did as I was told in the instructions and all was well. It has a pretty unique shape to it which allows you to wear the dress in different ways. I prefer to have it all tied up to the front, but here are a few photos with it tied up to the back which my photographer (El Husbando) thought was better.
It is recommended to make a toile first, and I did for the top part. I figured if I didn't get the fit of the top right, the whole dress would be ruined.
There is a lot of information on the In The Folds website on how to sew this dress, really A LOT! Start with how to make a toile and then Emily explains in following blog posts how to make any possible adjustments under the sun!
(And if you aren't following her blog yet, you should, it's a gold mine!)
I didn't want the dress to be too formal for everyday wear, but not too casual either. So I picked a denim from Art Gallery Fabrics. It drapes nicely and feels really soft. It's not the type of denim you would use for a pair of jeans, but it's perfect for dresses, shirts and skirts.
For the lining, I thought I'd pick a matching printed fabric to make it all extra pretty.
I'm really happy with my new dress, although I think I didn't get the fit perfect, it is slightly big around the waist.
And Frocktails? It was fun! We got to step out of the virtual world of Instagram and meet our virtual friends in the real world.
Emily was wearing an Acton dress as well of course, and so was Kate from Sewingwithkate, you can see her version here.
Curious as to what everyone else was wearing? Search for #sydneyfrocktails on Instagram and you might spot a picture of our 3 Acton dresses together!
Pattern: Acton Dress from In The Folds
Size made: C
Fabric: 1.85 cm of AGF denim Frosted Sage + 40cm of Soft Cactus cotton to line the bodice.
