Flora

Description

Flora is a tiered dress with a relaxed but feminine silhouette. It features a batwing sleeve, with the bodice partially cut-in-one with the sleeve, and a frilly and flirty skirt.

The bodice fastens at the centre front with buttons, while the waistline and sleeve cuffs are cinched with elastic to provide shaping.
The skirt comes in three length variations, while the sleeve has two length options. The mini, short, and midi skirt lengths measure approximately 18–20” (45.7-50.8 cm), 21–23” (53.3-58.4 cm), and 27–29” (68.6-73.7 cm) from the waist, depending on size, resulting in finished lengths that fall above the knee, about the knee, and mid-calf, respectively.
The long sleeve variation ends at the wrist, while the shorter sleeve is designed as a push-up sleeve that sits above the elbow.
The short and midi skirt versions include optional inset pockets, while the mini version is preferably made without pockets.
You can also skip the lower skirt tier to save on fabric, and you’ll have new dress and top variations.

Designed for lightweight woven fabrics such as cotton lawn, Flora is breathable and fluid, perfect for warm weather. The silhouette is flattering across a range of body types, including plus sizes, balancing volume with gentle waist definition while allowing ease of movement.
Flora can also be styled with a self-fabric belt (pattern included) for a more defined look.

This pattern has 4 bodice cup sizes to choose from: B, C, D & E. Note that dress sewing pattern cup sizes are not the same as bra cup sizes.

The Model is 5’2 (157 cm) with a Chest-Bust-Waist-Hip of 34.5-37-32-40 inches (88-94-81-102 cm) at the time of shooting the pictures and is wearing a size 10B with a shortened bodice length in the green dress, a shortened size 8B bodice blended to size 10 skirt in the blue flowered dress, and a shortened size 8B in the taupe satin.  Flora, like other SewExplicit patterns, is designed for a height range of 5’5 to 5’8 (165 to 173 cm). Taller or shorter figures may require height adjustments.

Check out this blog post to see pictures from testers and a few more tidbits about the sewing pattern.
You can also view an Instagram reel of Testers’ Makes here. 

Style Number: 4002

Size Range: women’s sizes 4 – 32 split into two overlapping size bands, size band A in sizes  4-20 and size band B in sizes 16-32; and cup sizes B, C, D and E to fit busts 30″ to 61″ (76 to 155 cm) and hips 33″ to 61″ (84 to 155 cm).  For this pattern, Flora, the base pattern has been drafted in size 18, the middle size of the entire range.

Ease: Flora’s bodice has generous ease at the bust due to its cut. The waist before elastic application includes approximately 9” (23 cm) of ease, while the skirt provides about 4.5” (11.5 cm) of ease at the hip.

Layers: This PDF sewing pattern has a layers feature that allows you to print only the size(s) you need. The pattern is also coded with different line types to help you identify and trace the correct size.

Measurement System: Imperial (inches) and Metric (cm). This pattern has been drafted in the imperial system, and metric conversions are approximate. View the Body Measurement chart in the picture gallery.

Difficulty:   Intermediate.
Specific skills required include: making buttonholes, sewing a narrow rolled hem, and handling and sewing bias tapes. The sewing instructions also suggest using an overlocker/serger.

Supplies and materials:

• Lightweight non-stretch woven fabrics that are not sheer.
• Lightweight soft-hand fusible interfacing.
• 4 to 5  units of 1/2″ (1.3 cm) diameter shirt buttons.
• 2 yards/meters of 1/4 to 3/8″ (0.6 to 1 cm) wide elastic for the waist and sleeve cuffs.
• 3/4″ (18mm) single-fold bias tape
• 2″ (5 cm)  wide belt slider (optional).

Download Size:  70 MB for each size band.

Content:

1. Illustrated (no photos)  PDF instruction booklet -35 pages.
2. Trim A4/Letter PDF pattern- 77 pages for size band A and 93  pages for size band B
3. Trimless A4/Letter PDF pattern- 77 pages for size band A and 93 pages for size band B
4. A0 PDF pattern- 4 pages for size band A and 5 pages for size band B.
5. PDF Projector cutting files for light and dark backgrounds.

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