Each month in our pattern review column, readers share their unique style with a gorgeous garment make!
Name: Georgina Li (she/her)
Instagram handle: @heysewgeorgie
Pattern used: ZW Tier Dress by Birgitta Helmersson
Fabric: Joy! Cotton Poplin by Hey Sew Sister
Fabric Stockist: heysewsister.co.uk
I had been wanting to try a zero waste pattern, in particular Birgitta Helmersson’s patterns, for a while and waited for a pattern that suited my style. This was it!
Dresses featuring tiered skirts constructed from rectangles are often lower waste as they tend to use up a good amount of the fabric requirement. For a tiered dress to be zero waste and use up ALL of the fabric is really exciting as I am always conscious about reducing my waste.
MY STYLE
I am a huge believer of dressing cute yet comfortable and, for me, that involves a lot of maxi silhouettes. This pattern perfectly fits the bill as it allows me to incorporate a fun fabric into a pretty silhouette with lots of room for comfort and movement. Birgitta Helmersson shows some great styling options on her website, birgittahelmersson.com, which I would recommend looking at.
FUN WITH FABRICS
I chose a 100% cotton poplin for my dress as I wanted the skirt to have a little extra body and for it not to cling too closely to my body. The poplin was a good choice for my first attempt at this pattern as it is stable and well-behaved, making the sewing process easier than if I had chosen a more fluid fabric that shifts. I would recommend lightweight woven cottons such as poplin, lawn, chambray as well as linen, which would be dreamy in the warmer weather.
START TO FINISH
It took about five hours to cut and sew this dress. The cutting out process was the quickest for any dress I’ve ever made! The most enjoyable part was definitely the satisfaction of everything fitting into fabric width size rectangles! Truly zero waste! I found the construction very straightforward and intuitive. I did sew one strap the wrong way round so that it was twisted over the shoulder and had to unpick and resew but this would be an easily avoidable mistake.
NEXT TIME
If I were to make this dress again, I would size up on the two-in-one split facing/underarm pattern piece to give me a little more room under the arm. Due to the zero waste cutting, I don’t think this would affect the rest of the pattern pieces too much, though I would perhaps consider a slightly wider fabric width too so that no skirt volume is lost. I would also shorten the length of the skirt in the top tier and increase the width strap even more.
SIZING AND FIT
I am a UK size 8/10 with a straight body shape. Based on
