Lorna's wedding guest Lois Dress in Atelier Brunette Viscose

Hello, I'm Lorna from @thread.and.yarn and I made the Tessuti Fabrics Lois Dress from a beautiful Atelier Brunette viscose.

Possibly as a combination of being in our early 30s and recently coming out of a nationwide lockdown, many of my close friends have been getting engaged or married - which has lead to lots of opportunities to sew occasion dresses. I'm loving the chance for a little bit of #SewFrosting and to make something special to celebrate with my dearest friends.

I've long loved the vintage cut of the Lois Dress, and thought it'd make the perfect wedding guest outfit. I wanted a fabric with some drape, so was on the look out for something with a high viscose content. I was so excited to work with Sew Me Sunshine for this project - one of my go to shops which has such an excellent range of day to day and occasion fabric (and everything in between!). It took me a while to decide, but I settled on this Atelier Brunette viscose in Lucie Ochre.

I've worked with Atelier Brunette fabrics once before (for my civil partnership dress) so I knew it would be an excellent, high quality viscose - I was not disappointed!

It has the perfect drape for a dress like this, and I imagine it would also make a gorgeous skirt or shirt too. It has a good weight to it, falling elegantly, and it's completely opaque so there's no need to line it. The Lois Dress is cut with the grain, but imagine this fabric would be gorgeous cut on the bias too.

It has a delicate sheen to it, but the pattern also contains a dark, grounding navy to balance the colours.

It was a delight to cut and sew. It kept its structure well for a viscose - I did add tearaway vilene to the neckline (as the neckline is diagonal this is cut on the bias and could stretch out), which worked well.

I was nervous about making the neckline join neat, as it's such a focal point of the dress. The fabric worked so well, and wasn't too slippery to manage. I did skip the side zip though - when I realised I could get it over my head I just seamed up the side to keep it as neat as possible. 

I was so happy with this dress, and the combination of the pattern and fabric! I had lots of questions about it on the day. It's pretty wonderful to know you're wearing something completely unique! I think this will be a formal wear staple for me, a timeless piece I'll return to for years to come.