This is my pattern mash-up version of  Bettine from Tilly and the Buttons – a dress I highly recommend for beginners. A perfect first dress, really! This one is made in a lightweight jersey I bought in Japan recently. Most of the dress is Bettine all the way, but I have replaced the skirt with the skirt from Sewaholic Saltspring.

Tilly and the Buttons has been a very influential force in my personal sewing journey. Her website first gave me my lightbulb “maybe I can do this” moment. My first ever make was a Miette skirt. And I regularly give a copy of Love at First Stitch to any friend I think might be susceptible to catching the sewing bug…

Although Bettine is designed for woven fabrics, Tilly has a great blog post about the few simplifications necessary when sewing it up in jersey.

Cut Go Sew … mmm … but

I cut out my Bettine in a size 4. Although it pains me to state my size on the internet, I’ve decided I will try to do so as often as possible. Personally, when I search the online sewing community for examples of a potential make, I’m trying to gauge how a make might look on a similar size/body shape. Since this blog is all about wanting to help others by adding to the online pool of sew-spiration, I need to be transparent!

Bettine was an extremely fast and easy sew. After completing my bodice, I was a little bit in love with this dress. The kimono sleeves are perfect – they feel fluid and lovely without being gapey. The Bettine bodice just felt light and flowy in all the right ways (I definitely predict some Bettine t-shirts in my future…).

Then I pinned my cut skirt pieces on to the completed bodice, for an idea of how it would look (AKA “fitting” for those without the cash or space for a dress form!).

Unfortunately, I felt a bit “blah” at the skirt. Due to the drape of my very light jersey, the tulip skirt didn’t hold any shape whatsoever and all I could see was it clinging to my hips. I imagine that in a woven, as intended, or even in a heavier jersey, the skirt would have looked very different.

Who do you trust? The pattern? Your instincts?

How do you react when you find yourself in that sewing situation?

I always feel in two mines: trust the designer or listen to the voices of doubt in my head?

This time, I listened to the voice of the fabric. The jersey was so light and had such a great drape that I wanted to use a skirt that really showcased those characteristics. One of my biggest mistakes as a beginner sewist was not properly co-ordinating pattern and fabric, so I really try to listen more to what my fabrics are telling me (just call me the fabric whisperer …)

So I hit my pattern stash in search of a skirt to pair with my Bettine:

I settled on the skirt from Sewaholic Saltspring , which I knew would also work well in jersey. At this point, I didn’t have enough fabric left to cut my skirt pieces as designed and had to cut the front and back skirt in two pieces each. Unfortunately, the geometric chevron print makes this very obvious. But whatevs, embrace the imperfection…

The other thing I am embarrassed to admit is that I actually originally cut out the full-lengthed maxi-skirt from Saltspring, contemplating that this would be a maxi-Bettine. It looked ridiculous! Elbow to ankle coverage. It screamed Little House on The Prairie. I’m not sure why sometimes I can’t see obvious mistakes in the making! I guess this is why I tend to question my sewing instinct – it doesn’t always steer me in the right direction!

Knits and necklines

The only other minor modification I’ve made is to leave the neck band unfinished.

It was supposed to still be folded in half and top-stitched in place. But after I attached it, I liked the way it looked wide, so I decided to just leave it. I’m hoping it withstands the test of time.

I have to say that, in general, I have experienced problems with the necklines of my hand made knits stretching over time, especially when there is no collar. There is usually a direct correlation between the (low) quality of the knit and how much it stretches. So I guess good quality jersey is key to avoiding this problem. I also only very recently discovered that my local fabric store does actually stock knit interfacing. I never thought to search for it in a totally different section from the woven interfacing! So here I added some knit interfacing around the neckline and along the top seam line of the kimono sleeves. Here’s hoping that this prevents stretching over time…

Bettine: perfect for beginners

All in all, I am pretty happy with my Bettine. It was a speedy and easy sew – what you would expect from a beginner pattern with no closures or set-in sleeves. If only this pattern existed in 2014 when I first learned to sew. I think it would make a perfect first or second project for a beginner, including a great first dress. This mash-up version will join Colette Moneta on my list of instant gratification knit patterns (cuz sometimes a few hours is all we have, right …)