I had sewn the Flo dress from Maison Victor when it was first released. I really enjoyed making this pattern, and when I wanted to sew myself a little summer dress for vacation... I remembered this slightly retro pattern that I liked so much...
So here we go, I’m taking you along on this sewing experience to make a Flo dress!
The pattern
Flo is a very pretty strapless dress with straps. The bustier cut is very flattering, and the dress is completed with a flared skirt with pleats hiding practical pockets.
The dress is rated difficulty ✭✭ by Maison Victor. It’s perfect for intermediate sewists.It is available from size 30 up to size 48, which corresponds to:
- a bust measurement between 72 and 116cm
- a waist measurement between 66 and 94.5cm
- a hip measurement between 82 and 122cm.
This pattern is available in the May/June 2017 edition of Maison Victor, but you can also find it in PDF format for €5.85 and in the book Dresses at the Top (€24.9) by Maison Victor.
In the sewist’s basket
To make the Flo dress, you will need:
- a lightweight/medium-weight woven fabric of 1.6m for the smaller sizes up to 2.3m for the larger sizes (cotton poplin, cotton lawn,...)
- good quality matching thread
- straight grain tape (8 mm/1cm wide) for the neckline
- invisible zipper: 60 cm
- fusible interfacing: 90 cm
- bra straps from 1cm to 1.5cm
In my first version, I used bra straps. For the second version, I decided to make tie straps from the dress fabric.
Technical points
The Flo dress includes quite a few interesting technical points, including:
- Assembling the bustier and topstitching the seams
- Trimming the neckline with the center notch
- Making the stitched pleats on the skirt
- Creating the pockets
- Attaching the straps
- Adding the bust lining
- Installing the invisible zipper
- Hemming the skirt bottom.
I find it really interesting for learning new techniques.
The sewing experience
I really enjoyed making my Flo dress, a somewhat technical piece but without any real headaches.
I chose from my personal stash a green cotton lawn from the Japanese brand Kokka. It’s a brand I particularly like and I actually sell it in the shop. This pattern comes from an old collection that must be 3 or 4 years old. I brought it back from one of my trips and it was waiting for the right project 😊.
Sewing steps
I started by assembling the bustier and topstitching the different parts of the bodice. For your information, I used straight grain tape to stabilize the neckline of my dress.
I assembled the bustier lining (the skirt is not lined)
I attached the pockets to the front and back of the skirt and made the pleats by stitching them closed for 7cm.
I attached the skirt to the bustier. I made my straps by cutting 50cm x 4cm rectangles to have final straps 1cm wide. I placed my straps on the dress in a "sandwich" with the lining.
Finally, after turning the lining inside out and clipping well... all that was left was to insert the zipper and sew the hems! And tada... my green Flo dress was finished.
I had a fight with Gisèle (my mannequin) to get it back 😂.
There you have it, you know everything about this very cute little dress pattern. As for me, I love it and I feel it’s going to become one of my favorite dresses!
