Rosa Shirt and Shirtdress – Tilly and the Buttons | Pattern Review

Hi everyone, how are you all today? I’m finally reviewing the Rosa Shirt and Shirtdress from Tilly and the Buttons. These garments were part of Instagram “parties” I participated in last month, namely the #shirtmonth, #sewingfloralfebruary, and #rosasewalong that was hosted by @patsypoomakes and @stitch_make_and_bake. I had so (sew?) much fun last month!

The pattern.

As you can see from the line drawing, the shirt/dress has forward shoulder seams, princess seams, slightly curved hem, interesting sleeve cuff detail, front and back yokes. I love the back yoke detail, it is so beautiful. Like all of Tilly’s patterns, this one is just as amazing; everything is so detailed without being overwhelming, the tips and photos are beyond helpful.

The seams are finished with faux-felled seam, so get ready to practice lots of topstitching with this one. On her website, Tilly offers a free sleeve pattern for Rosa if you want (long) sleeves that are a bit more conventional. I have downloaded the pattern, am definitely going to try this style for my next one.

The pattern is intended for improvers, but worry not Tilly really holds your hand and is very generous with tips and tricks that make the sewing process go a lot smoother.

Another plus is that the bodice pattern pieces actually have the waist marked/notched. I really appreciate that.

The fabric.

For the shirt, I used Atelier Brunette cotton lawn. The fabric is so luxurious! The perfect shirt fabric, I think. It is a dream to sew and to press. I used size 70 needle as this fabric is lightweight. The width of this fabric is 140cm, and I used just less than 2m for the shirt.

For the dress, I used just less than 3m of 110cm wide quilting cotton. I was a little bit apprehensive about using quilting cotton for garment, but this one turned out alright actually. The pattern calls for light to medium weight fabric. The quilting cotton does give the dress a bit more structure, but based on my experience with Rose and Hubble quilting fabrics, they get softer with washing. I have a pair of Margot Pajamas from Tilly’s first book Love at First Stitch made with Rose and Hubble quilting cotton and I absolutely love wearing them. I’ve had them for over two years now and they’re now a lot softer than when I first made them.

The changes.

1. Shortened the bodice by 4cm (1.5″).
2. For both garments, I shortened the buttonhole facings by just over 1cm to make it easier for me to hem. As the hem is curved, the allowance is quite narrow, 1.5cm, so the facing being thick from the interfacing would’ve been difficult to fold and stitch. If you’re going to try this, just make sure the bottom of the facings will be covered by the second fold of the hem. 🙂
3. For the shirt, I french-seamed the side seams (and the sleeves) as my fabric is lightweight.
4. For the dress, I lengthened the skirt by the same amount (4cm) – the finished length measurement was perfect for me.
5. For the dress, I cut the seam allowances for the princess seams narrower than the pattern instructed. So my topstitchings are closer to the seams. I stole this from The Bleuet pattern by Deer and Doe that I made last year.
6. I shortened the sleeves for the dress and hemmed them the usual way; double fold. The fact that my fabric is quilting cotton doesn’t affect the fit and wearability of the dress as it turns out. Yay!

The sewing process.

To be honest, when I first noticed the back yoke, I was so sure I’d struggle with that. I was surprised that I didn’t need my seam ripper for both garments when I got to that section. I also love the way the pockets are constructed – they are fully lined.

I made a straight size 5. I think the pattern was drafted for a B cup as I didn’t need to do SBA at all. My measurements are 38-31-39, B-cup, and I’m just over 5’2″. I did make a toile first for this pattern, even though I know I don’t usually have any problems with TATB patterns. From my toile I noticed that the waist on the pattern was 4cm (1.5″) lower than mine, so I fixed that. And that was the only “issue” I had.

I also learned a few new techniques with this pattern, that’s definitely a big plus in my book.

The  finished garment.

As much as I love the shirt, I must say I’m not a big fan of the folded cuffs. They are meant to be worn like that, so you can’t really unfold them – the end of the sleeves aren’t really hemmed – only zigzagged (or overlocked). Don’t get me wrong, I think they are cute for the warmer months when I’d not need jacket/coat over the shirt. But, I do adore the fit of these garments! There’s just enough room to move (and eat cake!) yet still gives me a bit of definition. I definitely prefer wearing a belt with my dress, but the shirt is perfect – would’ve been better if I’d tried the bonus sleeve pattern but as it is right now I am beyond happy to have it in my wardrobe.

Verdict.

Can you guess? 😀

Definitely 5 stars from me! I can’t express how much I love this pattern, seriously! I want a gazillion Rosas in my wardrobe now. If you need a good shirt/shirtdress pattern, I’d say try this one.

So, that’s all from me for this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week ahead. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today, I’ll see you again next week.

Happy stitching,

Faye

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