Over the last few months, I have had the absolute pleasure of getting to choose a number of Liberty Prints to sew up, courtesy of Minerva. This print in particular ended up being my favorite of all the prints I chose… And of course that left me paralyzed when it came to choosing a pattern to sew up with it! The colors and the tiny florals are absolutely perfect, and so quintessentially Liberty, that I became very precious about this cut of fabric. I made about 8 different plans for this, but I was never quite ready to commit and kept letting other projects cut the line. In my head, it has now been a wrap top, a dress with petal sleeves, a woven boxy tank, a short sleeve woven tee, a wrap skirt, an A-line skirt, and I can’t even recall what else!
Back in May, FibreMood offered a deal on their patterns for Mother’s Day – if I remember correctly, it was a free pattern, no strings attached! I am an extremely indecisive individual, so I couldn’t settle on just one, and I ended up decided to try out two totally different looks – one was the Alice Pullover, a “fancy sweatshirt” pattern that is essentially reversible, one side with a bit of a boat neck and the other with a V-Neck (you can see my first version of that pattern here!) I limited myself to two patterns, and took to Instagram for some ideas on patterns other sewists love. FibreMood has a HUGE catalog of patterns at this point, and I knew I had neither the time or energy to do the online search I wanted to do to choose a pattern. Not to mention, had I committed to that search, I surely would’ve ended up with far more than 2 patterns in my cart. One of my favorite patterns through pregnancy has been the FibreMood Mindy (I’ve worn my two versions – here and here – weekly lately!), and given that information, many of you suggested the Rosalie Dress! A floaty dress without a defined waist, this pattern was a perfect choice during pregnancy and beyond.
After picking up the pattern, I finally decided I was ready to make something out of this cotton lawn so that I could finally start wearing it! I felt like the silhouette of the Rosalie dress, paired with the floatiness of Liberty cotton lawn, was a great breezy pairing that would be perfect for hot, pregnant summer days. While it is a simple silhouette, the fun ruffly sleeves of the Rosalie dress offer a little bit extra, which just feels right when sewing with Liberty! I will admit, the sleeves remain my only frustration with this pattern. The instructions help you to achieve a nice looking narrow hem, but due to the many lines of stitching that end up folded up in that tiny hem, the hem of my ruffle sleeves wants to flip out no matter how many times they have been ironed! You can see a little glimpse of that in some of the photos, though I will say I’m pleasantly surprised by how well-behaved these seams look overall here!
This dress came together so easily and is absolutely great for hot summer days! I am actually 99% certain that I sewed the rectangles of the skirt pieces to the bodice upside down, so I’m not certain if that changed the overall silhouette of the dress (they’re not quite perfect rectangles), but I didn’t think it could be too wildly off so I chose to leave it rather than de- and re-constructing. I’ve decided that while big, flowing cotton dresses feel so great to wear right now, they aren’t my favorite look – I feel a little bit frumpy from time to time, since the baby bump holds the fabric very far away from me and from certain angles I just look like a big tent walking around! However, my vanity is in check and I’m just happy to be able to spend a little time outside while simultaneously remaining cool and comfortable!
While I have one piece that I haven’t yet gotten onto the blog, this is the next to last piece of Liberty fabric to have recently graced my shelves! I’m sad to know I soon won’t have any readily available to sew with, but I’m also thrilled with the pieces I’ve added to my wardrobe this year. This was surprisingly the first dress I sewed with my Liberty fabrics, and the tops I’ve sewn (a Roscoe and a Norma, plus the as-of-yet unposted Cielo) have been a great addition to both my casual and work-appropriate wardrobe. I’ve got one cut of Liberty lawn left to sew (and it is neither dress nor shirt! I can’t wait to show you guys soon!), and then I’ll have to start perusing the GIANT selection of Liberty fabrics that Minerva has to offer on their site once more!
This Liberty London fabric was a dream to work with, as usual. If you haven’t taken the chance to splurge a little on Liberty fabrics, I would highly advise it! The quality of the fabrics is excellent, and the colors and prints are absolutely divine. Though they can be a little pricier, the increased cost is absolutely worth it and I’ll be happily throwing more money this way after pregnancy, when I have a better idea of what silhouettes I’m excited to sew up!
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: Fibre Mood – Rosalie Dress
Fabric: Minerva – Liberty London Tana Cotton Lawn – Spring
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Jersey Ballpoint Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Heat & Bond Soft Stretch (Lite)
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this pattern! The fabric used for this post was provided to me by Minerva in exchange for photos of my finished garments and a review of my experience with the fabric posted on their website. The Rosalie Dress by Fibre Mood Patterns was purchased by me during a holiday sale. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
