A Myosotis Dress | Deer and Doe

Well well well…. I’m back! After nearly 2 years away from blogging… and what a time it has been. For those who don’t follow me on social media, I have had a bit of a rough old time with our littlest boy, Arlo, being diagnosed with a number of complex medical conditions. We have been in and out of hospital. And riding the waves of a pandemic at the same time. I just cannot believe how the past 2 years has panned out. So my time has been spent focusing entirely on my little boys. And it has taken until now for me to start to think about having some time to myself again. Yippee! So I have quite the backlog of makes I want to upload onto here. I do it as much for myself as anything else… I like to have my ‘Gallery of Makes‘ as a way to document everything that I make. So it will absolutely complete me to have all of my more recent makes added to the collection.

So here goes! This was a dress which I made way way back in 2019. This was around the time that this pattern, a Deer and Doe Myosotis dress, was relatively new. This has been such a cult classic, with so many sewists making this. I think it was Marie from A Stitching Odyssey who inspired me to have a go at this pattern – she’s made lots of these and hacked the collar too. Please check her out for inspo! She’s brilliant.

This pattern is so lovely to sew. Yes, it did take quite a bit of time sewing all of these ruffles. But I honestly enjoyed it. I LOVE how the pattern guides you to sew the gathers – they suggest you sew 2 lines of basting stitches, then when you sew the ruffled section into the non-ruffled piece, you sew between those 2 lines of basting/gathering stitches. I previously used to sew 3 lines of gathering stitches. I guess that probably gives you more control over the gathering. But I got on fine with just the 2. The thing that I really loved about their instructions is the topstitch once you have finished the gathered seam. You topstitch through the top/right side of the fabric, as close to the seam as possible, whilst also sewing through your finished seam allowances on the other side. Take a scroll through my photos and you’ll see what I mean. It gives such a tidy finish, which I love staring at when I wear this dress.

The mandarin collar construction was fairly pain-free. I always dread collars… that fear of not getting it perfect coupled with a relatively high risk sewing technique..! But it paid off. And the buttons (which I sourced from my fav, Textile Garden) are so gorgeous too. They have this kind of ombre silver glittery finish, but still quite understated. Just beautiful!

I did take a fair amount from the length of the dress, as the full pattern pieces took it to below the knee for me – more of a midi length than a mini on my short body (5’4″ in case you’re interested).

The fabric is a lovely linen/viscose blend from Sew Me Sunshine. The colour is just beautiful – kind of between a pink and lilac. It was lovely to work with, and the finish is just so perfect for this pattern. Drapey but light enough to give some good swishy movement. It is opaque too, so no need to figure out any kind of lining (massive win for me!).

All-in-all this pattern has been an absolute slam-dunk hit for me. And even when I was in early pregnancy, and post-natal too (inc breastfeeding). It’s generously sized, and has been so flattering on my ever-changing body shape and size. I can only thank you Deer & Doe! I feel like a total princess when wearing this. Love you Myosotis – our love affair has only just begun… I will be making you again my pretty!

Pattern: Myosotis by Deer & Doe

Fabric: Linen/viscose blend from Sew Me Sunshine

Notions: Buttons from Textile Garden

Size made: 38

Alterations made: Shortened length of the middle skirt section