Myosotis A & B

In spring of 2020, I signed up for the Introduction to Garment Sewing class at Finch Knitting and Sewing Studio in Leesburg, one of my favorite local fabric and sewing spots. The class was once a month for several months, and it introduced me to such great things as Swedish Pattern Paper (honestly, at this point I should own stock in it), how to read a pattern, how to draft between sizes, how to transfer patterns, how to gather, how to sew darts, what a bust adjustment was, and many more skills.

Honestly it was the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. In person learning and being able to ask questions is wonderful. Youtube tutorials can only take you so far, helpful as they may be.

It was eventually indefinitely postponed and then canceled due to COVID-19, but before that happened, I had chosen my first pattern for the class - the Myosotis Dress by Deer and Doe. One of the things Sylvie, my instructor, had told me that I have since kept to heart was that a) you should always make a mockup of the bodice and b) if you're going to make a mockup, do it in an inexpensive fabric that you actually like and maybe not cheap thin muslin, because then it can be functional. 

Which is what I did - I went to Joann and found a cotton woven with black polka dots that was on some sort of ridiculous sale. I  decided that as my main dress was going to be View A, no ruffles, the mockup might as well be View B, with ruffles.

The myosotis was a wonderful beginner pattern, for the most part.. I learned so many skills doing the mockup -  my very first small bust adjustment, my first darts. I gathered, interfaced, topstiched, hemmed.

The collar is a bit tricky - I didn't attach it perfectly, as it really does require you to be spot on with your seam allowances wit the tight corners, and the fabric was a double layer and therefore quite bulky as well. It probably didn't help that I didn't realize until after halfway through sewing said collar that I'd interfaced BOTH collar pieces instead of just the one the pattern calls for. Oops.

If I thought the collar was mildly difficult, I had no idea what I was about to be in for in the last stages of the dress - button holes.

When is started this project, I'd been using my singer Fashion Mate that I'd bought in 2012 and first learned to sew on. It's seen me through many, many quilts, including actually quilting and not just piecing many of them. What it can't do well is buttonholes.

It did not matter how much stabilizer, interfacing, tear away interfacing I put underneath the test fabric to have the automatic buttonhole foot make my buttonhole, it always got stuck about halfway through and just... sewed the entire button hole in one place. I honestly have no idea what trick got it to finally work  - right as I was contemplating hand sewing the buttonholes, but eventually I got three of them in.

The worst part? The buttons are decorative. There is so much ease in the garment that the buttons are entirely unnecessary. Lesson learned.

I had no idea I would also fall in love with my mockup. Isn't it adorable?  

My initial dress I used a nice wide belt to nip it in at the waist. I really do feel more comfortable and more myself with a more fitted silhouette. Though the bodice fits very well, the pattern is drafted to have a waist with a lot of ease in the waist. I took some of my leftover fabric, sewed up some skinny tubes, turned them inside out, ironed them flat, and sewed them in right above the waistline. I continued this with the plaid version A.

I use it ALL the time as a beach cover up. It's cute whenever.

I think one of my favorite parts of the dress, beyond the fact that I made it and it's very comfortable, are the hidden pockets. They blend into the full skirt and are a very good size - my phone fits without any issue.


I wear both all the time. From a day out at wineries with friends to acting as a coverup at the beach or waterpark, this dress is simply lovely.

And the very last thing I did was make matching masks for both. It's a pandemic, why wouldn't I?

(That's the Amelia Jacket - I'll post about making that one later)