Nina Lee Mayfair Dress

As soon as I saw this fabric at the shop (Látky Mráz), I knew I had to have it – the combination of a floral print and the mix of blues, purples and pinks is just my cup of tea! When that happens, I don’t always know exactly what I would like to make from the given fabric, but in this case I knew immediately it would make a perfect Mayfair Dress by Nina Lee.

I have sewn the pattern up once before as a Christmas present for my sister. I couldn’t find any nice viscose jerseys then and settled for a thin drapey cotton jersey instead, and it worked quite well. However, cotton will never drape as nicely as viscose does. This one is so silky soft as well, which makes this basically a secret PJs kind of dress.

This was the first Nina Lee pattern I have tried and I was really pleased with the drafting as well as the quality of the instructions.

What intrigued me about this dress were the gorgeous pleat details at the back of the collar and the centre of the waist, which in combination with the waist tie create a beautiful silhouette.

In the instruction booklet, Nina walks you through the construction process step by step with clear illustrations that are easy to follow. The only slightly tricky bit is the burrito method used to close the collar facing, as you have to roll up the whole dress and sandwich it between the collar and collar facing, which can be difficult with all that bulk. But it gives a really neat finish!

I made no alterations to the pattern besides lowering the neckline a little bit, as on the cotton jersey version it came up quite high. A good reminder that patterns behave differently depending on the fabric you use! The viscose version really didn’t need any alteration in that department, as all the drape and weight of the fabric brings it low enough. So in my next version (and there will definitely be another one, this time in a solid colour), I will use the original neckline again.

All in all, I really recommend this pattern – it comes together quickly and easily and looks fab on every body shape from what I have seen. If you want to see more versions, before you decide to make it yourself, check out the Instagram hashtag #mayfairdress. Nina herself has made one in a gorgeous Liberty jersey which is to die for!

Until next time,

Magda