I have to admit this make was a make of firsts. First time working with wool. First time working with suiting. First time working with wool suiting! New fabric substrates are a little outside my comfort zone, but I’m so glad I took the risk and tried this one! I sewed up a perfect, little winter dress by pairing this Lady McElroy virgin wool suiting with the Valerie dress by Forget Me Not Patterns. As always, I’ll chat through the fabric, pattern and construction as well as my overall thoughts about the make. Let’s jump in!

First off, this fabric. Oh my gosh. I opened the package and was slightly...surprised? Like I said I’d never worked with wool or suiting, and it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s like water with its beautiful movement and soft sheen. Somehow it’s light and heavy at the same time. It’s beautiful. The color is gorgeous. This shiny, blue-gray color is achieved by tightly weaving a taupe with a bright, saturated blue. It has so much dimension!

Overall it sewed up nicely too, though I have a couple recommendations. Firstly, the fabric is a little bouncy so a press cloth or clapper is handy to get a really crisp press. Secondly, the fabric does fray quite a bit, so be prepared to use either French seams or an overlocker.

I’ll be honest, after stroking this fabric, I really wanted to make a By Hand London Orsola dress. Knowing that the Orsola is more advanced and would take a lot of adjustmenting, I talked myself into a more practical, everyday dress that used a pattern I’ve made before. Do I regret it? Nope! I love this new addition to my winter wardrobe! (But I might have to pick up a few more meters to make my Orsola dreams come true.)

The Forget Me Not Valerie dress is a raglan sleeved dress with a 60’s inspired A-line skirt and practical slash pockets. The only changes I made this time around was replacing the sleeve cuff with elastic and adding a simple tie belt. While I love the look of the cuffed sleeve and single button, elastic is so much more practical since I’m always rolling up my sleeves. It was an easy change. I cut along the lengthen/shorten line and added the width of the would-be cuff. Then I simply hemmed the sleeves using a 2cm seam allowance and slipped in 17cm of my 1.5cm elastic. I basically eye-balled the tie belt for length and width and it came out beautifully.

I love, love, love how this fabric holds the a-line shape of the skirt. I feel like a little bell! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some pictures where the wind is more cooperative. I’m a little less convinced about the bodice. This pattern is a bit strange for fabric pairing because ideally you’d have something with a bit of structure to keep the shape of the A-line skirt, but that’s also drapy enough for the blousy raglan sleeve.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my little 60s-esq wool dress. The color is so perfect for this time of year. I’m really excited to have a happy winter dress in my wardrobe!

Pattern: Forget-Me-Not Valerie
Size Range: 28-48 (32.5”-52.5” hip)
Fabric & Notions: 2.5 Meters Wool Suiting, 60cm zip, 36cm 1.5cm elastic
Design Modifications: Replaced the sleeve cuff with elastic
Fit Alterations: None
Size: 44
Difficulty: Adventurous beginner

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

#WoolDressForWinter #WinterWools #VirginWool #WoolSuiting #LadyMcElroyFabrics #LadyMcElroyWool #ForgetMeNotPatterns #FMNValerie #ValerieDress
#CurvySewing #FatSewingClub #ChronicallySewn #SewingDisabled #BriBuildsAWardrobe