Over the winter, I lost my mojo for… well, pretty much everything. I always have less energy in winter, and I think that’s okay – it’s a time for hibernating, not a time for doing. After a busy December, my January and February were very quiet, with very little capacity for socialising, creativity, or going outside.
But with the sunny spring weather, my mojo came back suddenly in all areas – including sewing and other creative pursuits.
What is sewjo?
Just like when you lose your mojo, getting your sewjo back means regaining your confidence, energy, or enthusiasm.
To get your sewjo back, I think you really need to feel an exciting spark of inspiration, to give you that big urge to get making.
It’s my birthday in a couple of months, and for the last two years, I’ve made myself a birthday dress – you can see my 2023 birthday dress and the one from 2024 on Instagram. It’s now officially a tradition, so in the back of my mind, I’d been mulling over what to make for myself this year.
Enter, the Willow Dress.
The Willow Dress by Cinnamon Daisy
I first spotted this gorgeous make on @francesklondon’s Instagram – she’d made it as a top, but I read in her caption that it was also a dress pattern, and that it was super easy. Intriguing… I was immediately drawn in by the ties that cinch the waist, because I already knew that would make it super versatile for someone who’s weight fluctuates (I’m sure that’s most of us). I needed to see more.
After clicking on the #WillowDress hashtag on Instagram, I spotted the dress in blue by @h_anmade (below) with a backdrop of my hometown. I could see the house I grew up in – that’s got to mean something, right?
View this post on Instagram
I ummed and ahhed for 5 days (looking at photos of it on Instagram most of those days) before taking the plunge and buying the Willow Dress digital sewing pattern from Cinnamon Daisy – sign up to their newsletter while you’re on the website to get 10% off! This is not an ad, it just makes sense 😉
Making a Willow top toile
I decided to make it as a Willow sleeveless top first to check the sizing on my body, as I’d have used less fabric if it wasn’t quite right, and from reading about others’ experience, I thought I might have to shorten the body.
I already knew I likely wouldn’t make a Willow Dress with sleeves, so I don’t feel the need to practise those. I was envisioning the sleeveless version worn pinafore-style over long-sleeved tops in the winter, and with shoulders bare in the summer – a heavenly thought.
I started to sew the front and back together, when my sewing machine broke. Classic – I was so excited about making something new, and now this. I tried to fix it, but it turned out that I needed a new pedal, and because I’ve had my sewing machine for 20 years, they no longer make them, and new pedals are very expensive.
So, making took a pause while I ordered and waited for a new sewing machine to arrive, hoping that it would also last me 20 years of joy.
My new machine was here, and I had a whole weekend of sewing ahead of me. I started by sewing the top that I thought would be right for me by going on the measurements, rather than the clothes sizes. Turns out, I should’ve paid more attention to the bust measurement, as that’s the bit that needs to fit the best, while the rest of the dress is more of a “free” size, which you cinch in with the ties.
Anyway, starting with the top was the right decision, because I’d only used a small amount of fabric before I had to abandon it due to not being able to breathe once I got it on.
Rather than print and cut out another copy of the sewing pattern, I decided to add a centimetre or two to the sides of the second top pieces I cut, and to shorten the straps by about a centimetre too, while keeping the shape of the neckline at the front. I also chose to move the ties up a couple of centimetres, so that they’d sit in the right place for me. And with that, I felt confident to make the real thing.
Sewing the Cinnamon Daisy Willow Dress
I decided to make this dress in my favourite black cotton – it’s thin enough to wear in high summer (or layer up in the winter without overheating) but not see-through at all, and it feels silky soft against my skin. It’s the same fabric I used for my previous birthday dresses.
The Willow Dress sewing pattern is very straightforward, and it’s suitable for beginners. I flew through the majority of this sewing project, only pausing when I got to the bits I deemed “boring” – finishing the hem, armholes and neck. I gave it a quick try-on and I was so in love with how it looked already.
I loved it so much that I decided to start another Willow Dress immediately, without finishing the black one. I was over-excited and under-fed, and just didn’t have the focus needed for the finishing touches.
I started sewing my second Willow Dress from a duvet cover I got for about £4 in the sale at IKEA. It’d been sitting in my sewing cupboard for at least a year, waiting for the right project to work with the brilliant paint splodges. After a bit of contemplation over what colours I wanted where, I got cutting.
On the second day I tackled the skirt of my colourful Willow Dress, as well as finishing off the edges of both dresses – which I actually found very satisfying and not at all boring.
In the instructions from Cinnamon Daisy, it says to finish the neck and arm edges with binding, but I felt that I’d prefer the clean look of adding facing, which is “a piece of fabric used to finish raw edges of a garment, like necklines and armholes, by concealing them inside, creating a neat, professional finish”.
This is very easy to do by laying out your pattern pieces on the fabric you want to use for your facing (on the black dress I used the same black fabric, and on the colourful dress I used plain white cotton), but instead of cutting the whole piece out, you cut an inch or two down, following the curve of the pattern. You then sew right sides together along the edge, fold and press inwards, and then sew again to keep the facing on the inside.
I’m not sure described that very well, but this video explains it step by step.
The only other thing I’d possibly change is to add a couple of inches onto the skirt, as I love a long, flowy dress.
My finished me-made Willow Dresses
Wearing with my beloved Whistles Amber boots from Vinted – I have a beautiful olive green pair for sale on my Vinted profile!
Wearing with pink Dr Marten sandals from Vinted… which need a clean.
I’m so happy with my Willow Dresses – they’re super comfortable and I know I’m going to get a lot of wear out of them, especially that black one. I definitely won’t be able to wait until May to wear it as my birthday dress, but who knows, I might’ve sewn something else by then…
(…I definitely will have sewn something else by then – I’m already planning to make this in off-white and brown too, during a week off that I set aside specifically for creative projects, spring walks, and sleeping in.)
I’ve posted about my Willow Dresses over on Instagram too, so you can head over there to let me know what you think, or to tell me how you got on if you’ve also sewn this Cinnamon Daisy pattern!
And keep an eye on the me-made clothing section of my blog, where I’ll soon be sharing some of my favourite previous makes, as well as new projects.
