Just before I moved, I decided to make a Mersis Dress I had been planning to wear to a wedding that was to take place this Summer (having been postponed from last year), but it has been postponed by another year – but at least I’m ready early and won’t be sewing the hem on the train on my way there!

This is the Mersis Dress by Pattern Fantastique – I totally lusted after their sequinned version and immediately knew it could be a good option for this crepe I had been hoarding for my wedding outfit. There were going to be two weddings last year but one did take place with only 20 people and the other has been postponed – you wait ages for a good wedding, 2 come along at once, swiftly followed by a global pandemic!

I was originally going to make the Zadie Jumpsuit, which looks amazing on everyone I’ve ever seen it on! But then I thought about the whole ‘having to get naked to go to the toilet’ thing and decided maybe a dress would be more practical for tipsy toilet trips!

I especially love the shape of the back neckline and I’m so pleased I decided to make this pattern. It feels really loose and relaxed on, but still looks chic I think, and has interest in the ginormous sleeves!

I made the size 10 with no changes – it’s such a loose fit all over that it’s not too difficult to fit but I wanted the shoulders and neckline to fit nicely and I think I made the right choice of size. The pattern goes up to a size 26, which is 51″ bust, 44″ waist and 54″ hip. It’s not the most inclusive set of sizes but they used to only go up to a size 16 so they have improved what they offer, so I felt okay about buying the pattern.

The crepe was something I bought from an instagram destash and there was 3m, which was lucky because being so long, this does take up quite a lot of fabric. I am 5’3″ and didn’t make any changes to the length, though I like that it sits a little longer on me than in the pattern images – I assume it’s drafted for the standard 5’6″, though I can’t find that info on the website. I definitely should have ironed the dress before I took these photos, though!

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before, but I can be a bit slapdash with cutting out – I like to batch but out a few projects at a time and tend to do them a but quickly, especially if the fabric is a bit shifty, which this was. I definitely could have taken more care with the cutting out as some of my pieces ended up not quite fitting perfectly. The pockets also gape a little bit as I matched the notches instead of following my instinct to get them to lie flat, though I don’t think it looks terrible – it follows the line of the curved side seam.

I think I would be interested to make this pattern again, in a more stable fabric as a slightly glam summer dress. It could lend itself to some colour-blocking too, as there are some interesting seam lines. I also kind of want a sequinned version still…

Of course I might still change my mind about wearing this to the wedding by the time it comes around, but then I think I won’t possibly ever wear this, so I should stick to my guns. But sewing a new thing is always fun – and having an event as an excuse is my favourite thing…..