L-O-L-A Lola!

Pattern: Victory Patterns 'Lola'
Size: 8
Fabric: Sweatshirting and matching rib from Vend Fabrics

This is my first Victory Patterns um...pattern. I hadn't paid them much attention but one of my resolutions for 2014 is to make mostly independent patterns so I gave them a revisit.

Awesome things about this dress are that it perfectly fulfills my quest for clothes I can wear out of the house that feel like I'm wearing pyjamas, it has HUGE pockets that you could literally carry a dog in, and whenever I think about it I get a weird mash-up in my head of 'Lola' by The Kinks, and 'If You Stay' by Brian Wright...

'I don't think I'll ever meet another quite like Lola,
She knows a million hymns, sings them like she stole them'

Sweeeet.

My hobbies include reading...

Sorry, back to reality. It's a PDF pattern which I'm a fan of although some of the panels are pretty huge and take a lot of sellotape. I must get myself a tape dispenser. The construction of the dress was fun and easy and pretty much trouble free. I did have to redo the neckline as it was weird and baggy and stuck up at a funny angle. I tried it a second time with a shorter neckband and it seems to work so I'm not sure if I did something wrong the first time.

...looking at art...

The fabric is the same as I used for Big Minx's Newcastle Cardi - a heavy jersey sweatshirting with beautifully soft, fleecy inside. Vend Fabrics very cleverly offer matching rib for all the colours of this sweatshirting, so I went for that which is a really nice touch, I think. I did learn, however, that it's best not to press rib as it makes it stretch and go a bit out of shape. I did that on my hem band but I hope it might ping back to its former glory upon washing.

...and staring at people

I'm really pleased with this dress - it's soooooo comfy and pretty much the only outfit I don't fuss with in any way. No tucking in, no moving waistband, no hoiking, no hitching, no yanking down, just sits there and looks cute, not slobby. I think, anyway. The only thing I changed was to topstitch my neckline and cuff bands as the thick sweatshirting looked bulky and unappealing at those points so the topstitching helped it to lie flatter.

Look - a little sweatshirt 'V'!

Now, can I get away with more of these in my wardrobe? I'm a bit worried I might wear this exclusively for the rest of my life until someone loves me enough to tell me how gross that is. I'll debate that while I move on to my next Victory offering...Chloe.