At the moment there appears to be a glut of patterns for loose fitting dresses with gathered skirts and gathered sleeves.  Despite having many in my stash that could have fitted that brief or be easily adapted to it, I bought the Helen’s Closet March top and dress pattern when it was on sale.

I decided to sew a winter version, so used a brushed wool blend twill that was in deep stash and matched it with a paisley printed vintage wool for the contrasting bodice overlay.

From the pattern page: The March top and dress is a fun retro-style pattern featuring voluminous sleeves in two lengths and a gathered skirt (View A), gathered peplum (View B), or a straight peplum (View C). We love this whimsical design because it is comfortable, easy to style, and fun to wear! The interfaced front and back bodice panels add visual interest and provide a great place for a featured fabric or embellishment like embroidery. Views A and B are finished with a neck tie that you can tie in the front or leave to hang open. View C has a clean neckline finish with no tie. The neck tie can be added or removed from any of the views. The dress view features extra deep inseam pockets that are secured into the waistband seam.

As you can see, I chose to sew the dress view A with the neck tie, and the longer sleeve length. Of note, the contrast bodice panels are an overlay, applied like an external facing – they are not panels with seamlines that provide any shaping.

I sewed size 12, without alteration. The skirt is at pattern length. The sleeves are gathered both at the head where they join the bodice, and at the wrist into a narrow band. No elastic!

The inseam pocket insertion is very nice – well explained and illustrated, and it results in pockets that are secured across the waist seam plus have minimal bulk. I’ll use the pocket pattern piece and insertion method again.

I prefer this without the neck tie done up; it feels a bit high at the front neck on me when tied (which is common for me and my forward shoulders and forward head) and I don’t love the look of it tied on me either.

The dress layered nicely under a coat and with boots when I last wore it (in the days before lockdown) plus there was room underneath for a merino tee for additional warmth.

This is a pretty versatile pattern. As with most Helen’s Closet patterns, there are plenty of ‘hacks‘ on her blog that suggest ways to modify and adapt the pattern for even more garment options. Definite props to Helen’s Closet for excellent pattern illustrations and instructions too. I suspect that I’ll give this pattern another whirl at some stage.