About a month ago I entered a contest on Instagram and in doing so I won a super cute pattern: the Nelly from Smospotten and Snoesjes. Originally the Nelly was only for kids, but due to the success a version for adults could not be avoided.
Ideal if you like to twin with your daughter.
The Nelly can be a t-shirt, sweater or dress. The pattern has all these options.
Since I received this beautiful denim look coral colored cotton jersey from Minerva it seemed like the perfect match for a Nelly.
The Nelly is oversized, has a high neckline and the t-shirt version even has a ruffle option. So you have lots of options.

About my fabric.
It’s a Minerva Core Range Denim Look Cotton Jersey stretch knit in up to fourteen colors! The composition is 95% cotton and 5% lycra. It has a 45% horizontal stretch and 40% vertical stretch. The fabric has a fabric width of 150 cm, you can do a lot with that, right?

The pattern is available as a pattern paper pattern or as a PDF pattern. I used the PDF version. The only thing that I liked less was that I could not print the pattern in layers. That is one of the things that should be standard on a pattern.
I also had to be careful that the seam value had to be added. Maybe it could be done without since it is such a loose pattern.

Originally, the dress is a knee-length version. I previously saw longer versions passing by so I was super eager to try those out. I took the longest length and then added the 3 cm hem value. Actually the Nelly is really straightforward to sew. I used seam tape on the shoulder seams of the back piece to reinforce them, then I put the front and back pieces together with the overlocker. After this I put in the sleeves. A long dress is fun to wear, but it should be easy and comfortable. Therefore, I decided to make a high slit above my knee.

In advance, you need to decide how you want to wear your Nelly. Are you going to attach the tunnel to your dress with elastic or do you just want to wear it loosely or with a homemade belt? I chose to attach the tunnel with elastic.
So I pulled my dress inside out, cut an elastic with width 1.5 cm to the size of my waist and put it around my waist.
I marked the place where I wanted the bottom of my tunnel with a pin.
I then pinned the tunnel on the inside and measured the distance from the bottom of my dress each time. That way I knew I was placing the tunnel nice and straight on my dress. I sewed along both sides. Still, I left a 3 cm gap where I could put the elastic through.

Just hemming and my dress was done, tadaaa!

Thanks for passing by. Be sure to visit my Instagram @sewsewilse

Kind regards,
Ilse

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