A Ruska knot dress by Named Clothing

Howdy! How's your Me Made May 2019 going? Mine's going well, but my pledge is fairly simple this year - to sew more sustainably. If you want to see my full pledge, it's over on my Instagram account, but here's the general gist: wear more of my clothes, repair or readjust any clothes I don't wear and resist buying any new fabric, instead use up my stash and scraps. In general, I want to make my hobby greener, without losing the fun and enjoyment I get from it - but that's a conversation for another day!

So, today I want to tell you about my Ruska knot dress from Named Clothing's latest pattern book, Breaking the Pattern.

I'm a long term fan of Named and I've been buying their patterns since the first or second collection. When I heard that they were publishing a book, I immediately preordered it and it arrived in time for Christmas. I wasn't at all disappointed by the patterns - they're all the classic, unfussy scandi-style good stuff Named usually produce. The patterns go from easy to difficult so you can stretch your skills as you go.

This is the first pattern I tried from the book. With summer in full swing, it seemed appropriate to have a little jersey dress to throw on at the weekend. I love the knot detail, it makes the dress so much more interesting than a standard T-shirt dress. Plus, judging by other samples on the internet, it's a really flattering style. 

Named patterns usually fit me very well, especially around the bust and shoulders, so I didn't make a toile. Following the size chart, I cut a 2 at the bust and waist and graded up to a 4 at the hip. This seemed to work fine.

The fabric is 100% cotton jersey from Minerva Crafts in my favourite colour - dusky pink. It's lovely quality, but as you can see, natural fibres have a tendency to wrinkle. I think I can live with this though, especially as natural fibres are more breathable and cooling in hot conditions. 

I've had this dress for a while and I've been wearing it loads, I can't say that about a lot of my handmade wardrobe!