I absolutely love the new Amelia Dress pattern from Minerva. It’s such a great dress that will see me through many events this summer. Dressed up it’s perfect for Weddings and Christenings or dressed down perfect for just relaxing at a family barbecue.

It’s such a dreamy dress with fluttery sleeves, empire waist and designed to be tea-length, (but on me seated, it looks a little longer).

I paired my pattern with the beautiful Spring Cascade from Minerva’s exclusive viscose challis range. I love their viscose challis base cloth and have worked with it a lot, it’s such a lovely fabric to wear. This print is made up of the most gorgeous colours, predominantly a green background and covered with flowers in terracotta, mauve, lilac and blue. It reminds me of a beautiful watercolour painting.

As usual, with all Minerva patterns the instructions are really clear and easy to follow. I was pattern testing, but by the time you read this, there will also be a video online for you to follow.  When it came to fitting, I didn’t want the dress to be too tight across my tummy so I looked at the finished garment measurements and opted for the larger size.  Maybe next time I’ll use the smaller size to get a closer fit on the shoulders and do a full bust and tummy adjustment but I’m not at all unhappy with the fit of this one.  It’s certainly a comfy dress I will wear a lot. My personal preference is for a higher neckline so I will raise it next time I make it.  Purely due to using the chair and being viewed from above, for now It works well with a cami underneath.

Wheelchair Considerations

The length of the dress is good as it is not too long to get caught in your wheels.

I used a viscose challis which is very light, but if you used a thicker fabric, you may find that you want to reduce the width of the back panels on the skirt to avoid excess fabric underneath you.

The neck line is quite low so you may wish to raise this or simply wear a cami underneath.

(Image Description: there are six images taken from different angles showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing a V-neck tea dress that has flutter sleeves. The fabric is a green background with large flowers in shades of terracotta, mauve, lilac and blue)

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The Amelia Dress is a testament to timeless design and thoughtful construction. If you've been looking for a fresh sewing project, this brand-new pattern is the perfect opportunity to expand your skills and create something truly special. Its versatile style and elegant silhouette make it a rewarding addition to your handmade wardrobe. Whether you're new to sewing dresses or an experienced maker, the Amelia Dress offers a delightful challenge with stunning results.

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Let me show you the latest pattern from Minerva!!

As you can tell from my photos I did sew this up awhile ago. im now desperately waiting for the snow to melt away again after months of winter. (It had the nerve to be cold and snowing again yesterday. Ugh!!!)

I sewed up the brand new Amelia Dress in this pretty EcoVero viscose linen look from the exclusive prints line. It's the Shibori Stars print.

The Amelia dress is going to become a wardrobe staple for me as soon as the weather warms up. Choosing to sew it up in the EcoVero linen look fabric means it'll be a great comfy and cool dress to wear to work. I feel the linen gives it a bit more of a casual feel to it.

I love the style lines of the Amelia Dress with its inverted V waistline and the little gathers at the bust line. The flutter sleeves are always a favourite style of mine and they feel so feminine and pretty.

The dress was fairly straight forward to sew up and of course the fabric felt great to work with. I love a good linen textured fabric to sew. It just cooperates nicely and makes the process feel that much easier!

I do think for my hem on my flutter sleeves it might be a bit drapier if I just turned the hem up once instead of twice as the pattern suggests. Only because my fabric is a bit heavier. (In a lighter weight drapey fabric like a challis it wouldn’t matter at all having the hem turned up twice).

I tried so hard to pattern match my print but somehow despite my best efforts I messed up the matching on the back. I was so annoyed with myself, but really I don’t think people are going to be paying that close of attention. (I hope! Lol!)

All in all I’m super happy with how my Amelia turned out. Hurry up spring weather!! I can’t wait to put this dress into regular rotation!!

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Minerva’s Exclusive Pattern - The Tracey Jacket

Fabric - Minerva Exclusive Brushed Cotton Flannel in Paisley Palominos

The Tracey Jacket has you covered in any season, and it’s a favourite of mine this springtime. With its relaxed fit, generous pockets and signature topstitching this jacket is going to keep you warm and will look so fashionable for many years to come because good style never goes out of fashion. I used Minerva’s super warm brushed cotton flannel in Paisley Palominos because I love horses and these would win a red rosette at any horse show. The design is very special and I love the sage greens and sandy shades on the navy background. The Tracey Jacket is suitable for lots of different types of medium to heavy weight woven fabrics, and brushed cotton flannel has a great ability to hold in heat and insulate, yet still be breathable enough to wick moisture away. So my Tracey is very cosy and warm and it’s still light and easy to wear. The fabric is classed as medium weight and it’s best to use a new universal needle when sewing.

Minerva are so inclusive in their size ranges and their patterns come in two separate size ranges, A-J are 78cm to 106cm and drafted for a B cup. K-T are 104cm to 150cm and drafted for a D cup. The pattern comes with a very in depth booklet of instructions which include lots of great information about the sizing of the garment plus how to use your body measurements for the best fit. I always take my measurements and compare them to the charts because some styles will be designed to fit differently and there’s always your fabric choice to consider too.

Another nice touch is the inclusion of a Minervamaker fabric label to complete your Tracey Jacket

In addition to written instructions there are some great links to the pattern made up within the Minerva sewing community which is an invaluable resource when deciding on a fabric to use. It can really help take out the guesswork of how a fabric will look and behave.

There is also a full sew along video to help guide you through the process and there are plenty of hints and tips too.

The pattern is classed as an ideal project for the intermediate or confident beginner.

So first of all I prewashed my fabric just to make sure there would be no surprises after my jacket’s first wash and everything went well, while my fabric was drying I looked at the sizing of the jacket. It has a boxy fit which is very practical when it comes to layering up for warmth. I looked at the ease and decided to sew a size F based on my measurements. After giving the fabric a good press I laid out my pattern pieces pinning them in place ready for cutting out. I now mark all the notches from the pattern to my fabric before I move them from the cutting table, I think this is more accurate than moving pattern pieces and then marking later, it’s a bit time consuming but it has to be done at some stage.

One thing that you will be doing quite a lot of when sewing the Tracey is topstitching, I just make this stitch slightly longer than my regular stitch length and I make a note of the dimension, so I don’t forget. This makes your garment look more professional. The pockets are assembled and attached, if you are working with a patterned fabric it might be interesting to pattern match but I didn’t go along this route for my jacket.

A really great feature is the faced hem, this is a very good technique and easy to do to. Just don’t forget to snip the curve so that the hem can be turned to the right side.

The collar is a nice one to attach, and you cannot be too accurate when getting the collar sewn on. Another great feature is the two piece sleeves, just remember to do mirror images of the cuffs and use the notches to place the right cuff to the correct sleeve.

The jacket sews together very well, and although I love the snap finishes I find using them a bit of a brain teaser. It’s best to have a practice and get all your supplies organised and ready and then you will be fine and you will enjoy the process. For my Tracey I used pearl snaps because they give a cowboy, western vibe, fitting in with the palomino pony theme

This jacket is unlined, it has a shirt-stlyle collar and cuffs and those pockets are big enough for any eventuality.

This is a really great pattern to sew, the instructions are extremely clear and well set out in a good sized colour booklet. The jacket is so versatile and I really like the added extras which make it a joy to sew and wear. I know this is going to be a firm favourite for a long time to come

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Hello lovely Makers.

Here is my finished New Look 6751 which is the 4th make from my DeepStash9 plans for 2025.

It has been awhile since I’ve made a big 4 pattern (mainly because I tend to look for patterns with bust options nowadays ) but this has been in my stash for a bit as has the jersey so I decided to give it a go.

Overall, I quite like the dress and, for the most part, it is a simple construction. However, I do have a problem with the way the waist is designed. From the pattern it looks like a rigid flat front with an elasticated back. The reality is slightly different – the entire waist is elasticated using 2 channels created by the bodice and skirt seam allowances either side of the waistband

The specific the issues I have with this are:

1. the front bodice and skirt are both gathered onto the front waistband (which is double thickness) which means the seam allowance “channel” has all the bulk of the gathers .

2. You use 6mm elastic which isn’t really robust enough to cope with the weight of the jersey so doesn’t do a good job of cinching in

3. The waistband pieces are not interfaced so the back piece especially has a tendency to collapse and bunch .

This makes the dress a bit ubstructured at the waist and a bit "bunchy" to wear.

I may try this again but make the front waistband truly flat ( and interface it) and then create a wide elastic channel by having a facing for the back band and using a really wide elastic piece ( 1 1/2 inches or so) .

I would also usually add side pockets but as I like to attach the top of the pocket bag to the waistband this would have created even more bulk … so I had to forego this time😔

As it is I think it will be fine for a house dress or beach dress … but I wouldn’t wear it out and about because I’ll be constantly fiddling with the waist!

I used a Lady McElroy viscose jersey. Minerva do not stock this print but I have tagged another couple that I think would work.

It is a quick make though so I may even try this with a woven as I think with the ease plus the low neckline I could still get it on easily. Then I could shirr the back waistband . Hmm … food for thought

Thank you for reading and happy sewing

Rainy

Xx

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