This dress!! I was very excited to be part of the testing group of the Rosendal Dress – a new pattern by Hannah Andersson Studio. I’ve followed along on Instagram (@hannah.andersson.studio) during her first toiles of this dress pattern, the drafting process, and then to testing.
This was a lovely pattern to sew and I learned a few new sewing techniques along the way. If you like comfortable dresses with romantic details like this then I recommend giving the Rosendal Dress a try when it releases!
The Pattern
The Rosendal Dress features oversized three-quarter length sleeves, a high waistline, a lined bodice and buttons at the back. The pattern designer, Hannah Andersson, was inspired by “both 70s prairie dressed and Jane Austen period films” and the dress was designed with comfort in mind. The soft square neckline is one of my favorite elements of the dress and helps to balance out the fullness of the sleeves and skirt.
The size ranges from 32″ – 66″ (81 cm – 167.5 cm) in the bust measurement and the the sewing difficulty is intermediate or ambitious beginner. Some of the sewing techniques include sewing darts, gathering, inseams pockets and optional French seams. The sleeves have adjustable elasticated ties and the creative inseam pocket construction was new to me.
The instructions are clearly and patiently written out with a teacher-like style and share tips or different construction techniques throughout. It was a pleasure to test this pattern and I’m very happy to add this dress pattern into my collection.
The Fabric
The fabric I used for my Rosendal Dress is a beautiful, high quality Japanese seersucker cotton from Diy District. They reached out to me about trying some of their fabric at the perfect time because I was on the fence about my fabric choice. I love the texture and the sketchy floral design that looks almost like a solid when viewed from a distance.
The crisp drape of the fabric gave this dress a little more structure than I was expecting but it was amazing to sew with and achieve nice clean corners at the neckline. The added volume that this cotton creates, gives the dress an airy romantic feel.
The pattern recommends lightweight woven fabrics, like linen, cotton voile or lawn, or rayon challis. Choosing a fabric with more structure, like the one I chose, gives the sleeves and skirt more volume. It all depends on the look you’re going for and fabric choice can make a big difference. You can search the hashtag #rosendaldress on Instagram to see other sewists’ versions and the fabric they picked.
I used some of the leftover fabric to bind the inside seams on my Lakeview Tote pattern and I love the pretty pop of floral on the inside. It was very easy to sew with when enclosing the seams, even on the bulkiest sections.
Modifications
Since I was a tester for the pattern I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern because I wanted to test the fit as written. I did make a quick toile of the just the bodice to get an idea of the fit and decided to size down. The Rosendal Dress is still in testing so some of my fit note concerns may be improved / edited in the final – there aren’t many though!
Really my main fit concern is that the bodice still feels somewhat loose even after sizing down to the smallest size – I don’t quite fill out the bodice with my bust measurement (34″). However, the design of the bodice gives the appearance of it being more fitted but isn’t tight at all. On my next dress I may try bringing in the bust darts a little more to make that area a little more fitted.
Another thing I want to experiment with is the sleeve length because I think a short sleeve version would be cute! A version in linen or rayon would also be fun to try and see how it changes up the look.
I’m excited for when this pattern releases so that other sewists can try it out! I will update my review if any major changes to the pattern are made, but it’s already a thoughtful and beautifully designed pattern.
Thanks for reading along! 🙂
