We've sewn a fair few puff sleeve dresses here on the blog, including our Ivy Dress hack, the Hubba Ding Courtney Dress and Papercut's Estella Dress. This statement-sleeve trend is definitely here to stay! If you're looking for an eye-catching version to try at home, the Freya Dress pattern by Melbourne-based Veronica Tucker offers a unique alternative. Read on for our review of this pattern, kindly modelled by Ella from our HQ team!
Pattern Review
The Freya pattern strikes a playful balance of a simple wearable silhouette with eye-catching tiered puff sleeves! The pattern offers a blouse or dress length, with three variations on the elasticated puff sleeve to choose from. We chose the long tri-section puff, and paired this with the dress length body. Our Thistle Linen lends a soft, summertime vibe that we love, and the project took approximately 2.5m of this 130cm wide fabric. We also used about 1.5m of Braided Elastic 3mm - White for the sleeves. This project is described as beginner-friendly, and we'd agree, especially when using a stable midweight fabric linen cotton or linen. The instructions were clear and detailed, and the dress came together quickly. Sewing the elastic is very satisfying, and it's fun to watch the oversized sleeve pieces transform into textural shapes as you sew. Our only alteration was to shorten the sleeves by 3cm and the dress by 10cm for Ella. If you do shorten the hem length, make sure to check the pocket placement. We had to raise our pockets a little to stop them poking out from the hem.
Freya comes in AUS sizes 6-16, and if you fall outside this size range, Veronica will be happy to custom grade a size for you. AND there's a video tutorial on Youtube. Dream! You can purchase the pattern in PDF format online here and in paper format here.
Fabric Recommendations
Freya is a versatile pattern that would work in so many fabrics - check out this canary gingham version on Instagram here, as well as more linen colours! We're heading into summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, and prints, stripes and colours are on our radar. There's so much treasure to be found in stores and online at the moment, with the recent arrival of some beautiful designer deadstock cottons, linens, rayons and more! Check out a few suggestions below, clockwise from the top left is Vintage Finish Linen - Maple, Small Polka Dot Cotton Sateen - Chocolate, Organic Linen - Guava, Paisley Fronds Linen / Cotton - Powder Pink, Gerbera Print Linen - Lilac Smoke, Lightweight Linen - Jazzberry Jam, Segment Spot Cotton Shirting - Biscuit & Dappled Print Cotton.
If you're a beginner sewist and want to try your hand at a few fun techniques, we'd highly recommend trying this pattern. We're looking forward to seeing what patterns Veronica makes next! Share your projects with us using #TheFabricStore over on Instagram and TikTok, we're following along!