An Autumnal Bakerloo Dress
The Bakerloo dress, with its beautiful statement collar and long voluminous sleeves is the perfect dress for a sunny walk on a crisp autumn morning.
The Bakerloo dress, by Nina Lee London is one of my favourite dresses for autumn. The statement collar is such fun and can be left plain, or trimmed with frills and laces to make it really stand out. I also love the voluminous sleeves which are balanced out by the shorter skirt, which falls just above the knees.
The pattern is lovely to sew and the instructions are easy to follow. The only tricky part is attaching the ruffle to the collar, so that none of it gets caught up in the seam. For this version I chose to add a lace trim to the collar so that it would stand out against the busy, floral fabric.
I think the Bakerloo works best in a stable fabric like a cotton poplin or chambray as this holds the shape of the collar and sleeves. I chose to use a floral cotton poplin from Like Sew Amazing for this version, which I bought when I visited their lovely shop in person over the summer holidays. It sewed up beautifully and is lovely to wear. The red and yellow flowers on the black background give this fabric such a lovely autumnal feel and it feels perfect to wear crunching through fallen leaves on an early morning walk through the park.
This pattern comes in two size bands. Sizes 6 - 20 is available as a printed pattern, and as a pdf, and the pattern for sizes 16 - 28 is available as a pdf pattern.
My measurements are bust 36”, waist 30” and hips 42”, so I fall across three different sizes - 10, 12 and 14. However, when I was thinking about what size to make, I took into account the fact that this is a smock dress and has a somewhat oversized feel to it. I checked the finished measurements and knew that there would be enough ease in the finished garment to make a size 10. I wanted the dress to have a casual, smock dress feel, without being too oversized.
The original dress is finished with a button and button loop at the top of the back bodice, but for my version I decided to put in invisible zip down the centre back instead - just to allow me a bit more room to get in and out. Strangely, I really enjoy putting in invisible zips, so this extra step wasn’t too much of a bother at all.
As the fabric was quite busy, I wanted to take a bit of volume out of the sleeves. But rather than altering the Bakerloo sleeve, I decided to use the sleeve pattern piece from the Friday Pattern Company Davenport Dress - another pattern I love! This worked really well to give me a lovely, full sleeve without being too voluminous.
This is a well-loved pattern and one I know I will get a lot of wear out of over the winter months ahead. Although the lovely sleeves make it difficult to pop a sweater over the top, I tend to add a long sleeved top underneath or a knitted vest over the top to add a little extra warmth.
I definitely plan to make this pattern again - although I would like to try the blouse next time as I have yet to try that, and I think it would look perfect with my pinafores and trousers in the winter.
Happy sewing!
Amelia x
