My first By Hand Anna dress...

After the success of my Emery dress, I have followed this up with my first By Hand Anna dress. This pattern is another popular one, that I have seen blogs about frequently. I would also say that this pattern is one of the most hacked patterns. I decided to make my own hacked version. I knew that I liked the shape of the top, but was unsure about the skirt style. The Anna dress comes with a panelled skirt that can be mid-length or full length with a split. I made the decision to cut the bodice out and sew it together to check the fit and then choose the skirt style afterwards. 

The top needed no fitting from the original as it fit perfectly! It's a lovely shape around the waist and the open ended darts give a soft finish on the bust. The neckline is a nice shape on me also, it sits high enough to allow me to wear necklaces with it.

I then made the decision to cut three rectangles to make the skirt. I used the full width of the fabric for the front and then cut it in half to make the back. I sewed it together before using two gathering rows to get it to fit the bodice. The fabric is a lovely spotty lightweight cotton that I bought from Moon Yue Piece Goods in Sham Shui Po. It fell into the gathers really well!   

I really love this pattern and am very pleased with my hack. It's certainly a dress that i'm going to make again. I think using different fabrics for the bodice and skirt would be a lovely look. Maybe a nice chambray for one and a stripe for the other... 

Watch this space for more Anna's, because this certainly isn't going to be the last one!