Home My makesDresses Anna Dress – By Hand London matched with a half circle skirt

Anna Dress – By Hand London matched with a half circle skirt

by Ladulsatina
17 comments
Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

I had been thinking for some time about how to make an Anna Dress by By Hand London. I liked the bodice very much and I wanted to keep it as it is, but I would have liked to try to change the skirt in order to create an impish and at the same time a little romantic dress, to wear both in summer and in autumn/spring with a light sweater.

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

I came up with the idea of matching a circle skirt to the bodice and use a floral printed cotton I bought last summer in London. I like its pattern very much and the fabric changes colour according to different lighting (sometimes it seems violet and at times blue). But adding it up, I realised I didn’t have enough fabric to make a circle skirt (the fabric was 1 mt high and I only had 2,5 mt length), so I tried to work how to make the dress with a half circle skirt out.

I decided to have an unique seam on the left side only for the skirt. Then I chose to eliminate the zip and move it from the back of the bodice to the left side.

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

I made the back part of the bodice as a single piece instead of two separate pieces, removing the zip opening. To do this I had to trace a straight line laterally to be placed on the fold of the fabric, parallel to the selvages. I next widened the back dart to resize the waist (I have an 8/10 bust and a 4/8 waist). Finally I cut 1,5 cm the seam allowance off both of the back bodice and of the neckline facing (see the picture), in order to eliminate the extra cm designed for the zip. I made a test version with an old sheet and it came out perfect on the first attempt! Great, what a satisfaction! My Design education did some good! 😉

So I cut and sewed everything up. I have to say that I adore this pattern, it is really simple and intuitive to sew. And the fabric is perfect… light and delicate.

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

I instead designed the half circle skirt pattern myself. I chose a 45 cm length and I cut the fabric adding 1,5 cm seam allowance. Finally I put the skirt and the bodice together, sewed the zip and the left side and hemmed up.

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

Here is a brief abstract:
• Pattern: Anna Dress, By Hand London (bought on UrbanCut).
• Fabric: a floral printed cotton (bought at The Cloth Shop in London).
• Modifications: I changed the pattern’s skirt with a half circle skirt (45 cm high) and I moved the invisible zip to the left side of the dress.

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

I made a little mess with the invisible zip this time and I couldn’t manage to perfectly align the seams between the bodice and the skirt :), but I have to say that I like the overall result very much! Moreover it is exactly my style, so I think I’m going to wear it very often!

Anna Dress By Hand London with half circle skirt

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17 comments

Sasha 6 Novembre 2014 - 12:14

Looks great on you! I like the new/different vibe the modified skirt gives – a nore girlish / sweet vibe. It’s perfect with the cardigan as a fall outfit! Brava, complimenti!
XO

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LaDulsaTina 6 Novembre 2014 - 13:01

Thank you Sasha!!

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Klara 6 Novembre 2014 - 13:22

Looks great! Very nice fabric choice for a dress like this. And you look fab, of course, look at those legs of yours!

Btw. if that is what you call a messy zipper insertion, then I dare not talk about my zippers! Great job with moving the zipper, too. I sometimes do it and always feel a little anxious about the outcome, but it seems it’s not that big a deal because everything matches up well every time :).

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LaDulsaTina 7 Novembre 2014 - 17:49

Thank you Klara!! 🙂 You can’t imagine what a mess I made with that invisible zip … I only tell you that it was completely divided in two parts at certain point!! 🙁 I wanted to give up and buy another zip. I managed to join them together again only with the help of my boyfriend ! What a mess!! 🙂

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sewing princess 7 Novembre 2014 - 15:39

Great job! fitting is great on you. I like it with a circle skirt. Overall it’s a very tempting pattern ;o)

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LaDulsaTina 7 Novembre 2014 - 17:50

Thank you Silvia!!! 🙂 I love this model and I think I’m going to make it again in next months! 😉 Have you ever make it?

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Lauren Reeve-Brook 11 Novembre 2014 - 14:22

I love it! Such a good idea :D. The Anna dress is such a lovely pattern, I really love the way the bodice fits. I am definitely making a skirt like this for my next.
Lxx

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LaDulsaTina 12 Novembre 2014 - 13:01

Thank you Lauren!! I love this pattern too! Can’t wait to see your version! 🙂

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Preethi 13 Novembre 2014 - 10:58

Great looking dress. I only learnt yesterday to insert zip yesterday on the center back. your version on side looks so neat.

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LaDulsaTina 13 Novembre 2014 - 14:11

Thank you so much!! 🙂 I fought against that zip this time 😉 but in the end I managed to insert it…It was a hard job!

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Maggot 5 Febbraio 2015 - 15:12

Waou what an amazing version of the Anna’s dress ! I love it ! And your photographs are really beautiful with the sunset behind … ! 🙂

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LaDulsaTina 9 Febbraio 2015 - 14:08

Thank you Maggot!! The sunset helped a lot 😉

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Ju 20 Aprile 2015 - 15:52

another great interpretation you’ve made.

ps. Your English is fantastic, I could never write a blog in another language but just a suggestion, “moreover” is not really in common use, “furthermore” would be a good substitute, hope you don’t mind me saying so. 🙂

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LaDulsaTina 23 Aprile 2015 - 16:13

Thank you so much Ju 🙂 I still have tons of things to know about English (you’re so kind but my English is not so fantastic ;)…I’m trying to improve it every day), so I really appreciate every suggestion! I keep your suggestion in mind for the next time 🙂

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An Italian girl in London: fabric shopping and more! 5 Agosto 2016 - 12:35

[…] similar to Liberty’s at affordable prices (here I bought these two fabrics two years ago: Anna Dress e Mathilde Blouse). […]

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Abi 8 Giugno 2018 - 13:35

Hi! This is gorgeous! I am planning on making an Anna dress with a half circle skirt as I prefer this skirt to the panelled one the pattern has. Was it difficult to attach the circle skirt to the bodice? I’m nervous about it!

thank you so much 🙂

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LaDulsaTina 26 Luglio 2018 - 18:02

Hi! No, it’s not difficult, don’t worry! 🙂 The waist measurement of the bodice has to be the same measurement of waist of the half circle skirt

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