Mmm... aubergine needlecord...
Like many in the online sewing community, I fell in love with this fabric when we started putting it in our Cleo sewing kits, and decided to put some aside so I could make myself a Rosa shirt dress, inspired by this one. The needlecord is relatively lightweight and feels silky soft to the touch. I love how it's turned out!
I made the facings in a floral Liberty lawn to add pretty details to the insides. If you can't afford to make a whole shirt in Liberty fabric, making just the facings in it is a great way to get your florals fix on a budget :) I love the contrast between the feminine facings and more industrial-looking hammer-on jeans buttons.
I made the full length sleeve version with cuffs - this is a free pattern bonus and tutorial that we published on the blog recently for those of you fancy making a Rosa for cooler weather. (The sleeves are three-quarter length with casual roll-up cuffs in the original pattern.)
If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you may have seen that these cuff facings weren't actually meant to look like this. I was sewing in the evening when I was tired and my mind was elsewhere - obviously not a sensible plan in retrospect! As I wasn't concentrating on what I was doing, I accidentally sewed the cuff facings to the right side of the fabric - they were meant to be hidden on the inside.
I considered starting again with new sleeves... for all of five seconds... and decided that this mistake was now a "design feature" ;) Life is just too short to worry about little things like that. And now that I've finished my dress, I really like the contrast cuff facings!
PS. If you want some help making your own Rosa dress, take a look at my video workshop, Sew Your Own Shirt or Shirt Dress, for tons of techniques, tips and tricks on two-piece collars, pointed yokes, sleeves, buttonholes and more!
