I am really pleased to be part of the Simple Sew Blogger team this year. What this means is that I am going to be reviewing some of my favourite Simple Sew patterns every month or so.

For my first review, I chose the Amelia Tea Dress, as I love the shirred waistband on it.

Amelia is described as the perfect day-to-evening pattern with a choice of two lengths of fluttery sleeve.

I chose to make mine from this stunning red floral viscose that I got on a recent trip to the Birmingham Rag Market. For those not in the know, the Liberty Man has the best fabric selection!

The viscose was really easy to work with and remains surprisingly uncreased.

I cut out the smallest size, as it was closest to my measurements. I do think that they could do with one size smaller for us tiny girls though.

I chose the version with the smaller sleeves.

The construction of the dress is pretty straightforward. I didn’t really find I needed to refer to the instructions, however, I think that there are a few steps missing, such as seam finishes and understitching. An experience sewist would do these naturally, however, I am not sure a beginner would without instruction.

I love the waistband with the eight rows of shirring elastic – I think it is super flattering and makes the dress really comfortable to wear.

I added in seam pockets to my dress, as I just really love pockets! To do this, I just used a pocket piece from another dress and added the pockets in six cm down from the waistband. Easy!

Despite me choosing a very seasonally inappropriate make, I absolutely love my Amelia dress and can’t wait for the Spring time when I will get to wear it properly, hopefully without the tights and snowboots!