The Lotta dress pattern tour: Behind the hedgerow

The latest pattern from Compagnie M., the Lotta Dress, captures the essence of summer!  It’s an easy-to-sew, easy-to-wear dress with just the right amount of clever details to make it stand out in a crowd.

With so many delightful versions on the blog this week I’m pretty sure you’ve already got that pattern purchased, printed and well on the way to being completed, right?  Well, if not, perhaps my little nautical interpretation will be the push that you need.

The facts

I made a size 6 for my average-sized 6-year-old.  After taking these photos I realise that the bodice is a bit wide but don’t fear because Marte has written a tutorial on how to adjust the width to your child’s measurements.  I made cap sleeves with diagonal pockets and button placket closure.  The skirt and lining fabric is a classic black and white ticking (bought at my new favourite and soon-to-be local fabric shop, The Sewing Shop, in Canterbury, Kent, UK).  The bodice fabric I bought in Paris on a whim.  It’s from Atelier Brunette and it is lush!  It’s a lawn fabric so has the feel and quality of Liberty.  This print is from the old collection and there’s a new line that’s just recently been released – check it out at your own risk (the Golden Moon is making me swoon!).

Some ramblings about my version

My first thought when seeing this pattern was that it would look great in seersucker.  Alas, I couldn’t find it locally and didn’t have time to order it from abroad.  I think this ticking is the next best thing (although I’d still love to see a seersucker version…and if any of you Dutch readers are wondering what I’m talking about, I believe the Dutch translation is gestreept cloqué – thanks for the Facebook help on that one, Marte).

My next decision was which fabric to use as the lining.  I am not naturally drawn to nautical style but when I saw this fabric in the tiny Atelier Brunette shop in Paris it just kind of spoke to me.  I bought a small off-cut and thought I’d make a little cushion but as soon as I earmark a fabric for one thing you can guarantee I’ll use it for something else – so it became part of the dress!

Yes, I did say lining.  The boats were intended to be the lining but I couldn’t bear to have them hidden away and once I saw Rachel’s version with contrasting fabrics I knew exactly what I was going to do!

The dress came together pretty quickly – I think I spent more time choosing buttons than anything else!  Speaking of buttons, you can see I went for the button closure which, for me, seemed in keeping with the style of the dress.  I love the look for the loop closures but sewing tubes of fabric and turning them right side out is one of my irrational sewing hates so I avoid that when possible!

And I made a little hair tie with the tiny amount of remaining fabric. That was two minutes well-spent (pretty sure she likes the hair tie more than the dress!).

And the other fantastic thing about this pattern is that you can add the sleeves from the Mara Blouse (see my version here) or the Louisa Dress (which I haven’t made but have the fabric all picked out!).  This means that this dress isn’t just for summer after all!

Together with her Hanami Dress, Margot is starting to get a nice little summer wardrobe!  As I type this it is still Selfish Sewing Week so, on that note, I will leave kid sewing behind for a while and work on something for myself!

Thanks for having me on the tour, Marte.  You’ve done it again – another great pattern to add to your collection!

Thanks for reading – and don’t forget to come on over to Behind the Hedgerow to enter to win a copy of this pattern!

Laura x

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What a unique Lotta dress! Love the result of a skirt in the contrasting fabric… Let the summer begin! Seems like your girl is ready for some sunshine!

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You can buy the Lotta dress pattern in MY SHOP for only 7 euro. During the pattern tour, you’ll get a 10% discount with this code: LAUNCH-LOTTA.

You can also win a free copy of the pattern on Laura’s blog!