Sewing Coco - Tilly & The Buttons dress pattern review

Having had a little foray into the world of dressmaking recently I was delighted to see Tilly Walnes from Great British Sewing Bee 2013 had released this little gem of a pattern for a dress/top with various necks and cuffs that you could interchange to suit.

I was slightly scared to be having to sew with a knit/stretch fabric, but Tilly had also included a step by step sew along on her blog.  What could go wrong?

Another of my pupils Elspeth also fancied having a go at the Coco dress too so we headed off to our local fabric shop and found ourselves some jersey.  On reflection I think it was probably a bit thin and flimsy but we would know for next time.

The pattern was so simple to follow and with step by step instructions and loads of top tips on the blog we both managed to complete our dresses in only a few hours.

Here's my leopard print one, I decided to skip on the pockets as I wanted it more of a tunic style top than a dress.

And here is Elspeths floral one with pockets and added button embellishments.

It wasnt long before we had both headed off to the fabric shop again and this time we picked heavier weight knits.  I decided to try the funnel neck and cuffs this time round which were super easy to do.

Elspeth stuck to what she loved as the tops are so comfy she needed another.  She did challenge herself though and picked a striped fabric and I have to say her pattern matching is pretty good don't you think?

Well today is the official Tilly and the Buttons #COCOPARTY when Tilly has challenged everyone to get together and have a party in their coco's. The sun was shining and we thought it would be rude not to join in really.

If you would like to sew your own Coco but would prefer to have your hand held during the process.  We are offering Coco dress making classes at Beautiful Things HQ starting next month.  Visit our website for the dates.

I expect by then I will have made a few more as they are so comfy and amazingly versatile.  Time for a top now I think.