Flutter sleeve ‘Joni’ dress (From TATB Stretch book)

I’ve had the Tilly and the Buttons Stretch book for a while now, and I’ve finally got my act together and made something from it! I found this gorgeous jersey in the fabric shop Like Sew Amazing. I think it’s from Art Gallery Fabrics, but I’m not quite sure. Anyway, it’s super soft and drapey, so perfect for a Joni dress!

I knew if I was going to make a Joni it had to have flutter sleeves (a hack included in the book). My finished dress is great for twirling, and I love how the sleeves flare out and mirror the shape of the skirt. They make me feel all floaty and ethereal!

As it’s the final project in the book I expected it to be quite complicated, but it was actually really easy. Aside from hemming (which took forever as it’s a circle skirt) I was able to make the dress in a day, which for me is very fast! The twist at the front is deceptively simple, and even the concealed neckline binding is easy if you take it one step at a time. (Obviously this was all helped by Tilly’s fantastic instructions)

Size wise, I cut a straight size 1. Recently I’ve been finding I need to grade up a size at the hips with Tilly’s patterns, but as the Joni skirt is loose there wasn’t any point. There’s not much that can go wrong with the fit of this pattern; the only part that’s close fitting is the bodice, and this has negative ease anyway so there’s a lot of leeway. I totally think a beginner could sew this pattern, as long as they’ve handled stretchy material before.

I’m keeping this pattern in mind if I ever need something formal to wear- I’d love to make it in stretch velvet as the book suggests, so watch this space!

Pattern: Joni dress from Tilly Walnes’ book Stretch!
Size/Fit: I made a straight size 1, which fits perfectly!
Fabric: Cotton jersey from Like Sew Amazing
Sewing Time: A day, not including hemming.
Quality of instructions: Wonderful as per usual!
Difficulty: If you can sew with stretchy fabric, you can easily handle this dress, so I’d say beginner.
Adjustments: Adding flutter sleeves.
Make again? Definitely!