Helen's Closet Reynolds Dress Review

As I mentioned in my previous post, having finished my first version of the Helen's Closet Reynolds pattern in the shape of the top for my Ankara two-piece set, I liked it so much that I almost immediately started working on a Reynolds dress. Thankfully the dress is just as good as the top!

The Reynolds top and dress is described as "your go-to summer garment", and I would definitely agree with that. It's a pull-on top or dress (in either knee or full length) with wide shoulder straps and, for the dress versions at least, in-seam pockets and a side slit with mitred corners at the hem. It comes with 0-22 (B-cup) and 12-34 (D-cup) size ranges, which together cover hip measurements from 33 to 62 inches.

I was initially drawn to the Reynolds pattern because it seemed like it would be a great dress to throw on in hot weather. I liked the fact that it has a loose, relaxed fit but with the added bonus that there's shaping in the side and centre back seams, meaning that it's not boxy or baggy.

For my Reynolds dress and top I used the smaller B-cup size range and made a 12 at the bust blending out to a 16 at the hips (for my top, I made a 12 at the bust blending out to a 14 at the hem). They're pretty much the sizes recommended for my measurements (my hips are actually between a 14 and 16 but I'd rather have more room at the hips than less!). 

I'm only including photos of my dress in this post - if you want to see my top, there are plenty of photos in my post from last week.

I lengthened the top by 1 inch, and the dress by 1 inch above the waist and 2 inches in the skirt section - this is fairly standard for me, and is only to be expected as I'm about 3 inches taller than the height the pattern is drafted for.

Sewing both the dress and the top was no trouble at all. With no closures, they're fairly simple garments to sew and the instructions are very detailed and full of helpful tips to make the process even easier. The sewing level is rated is being advanced beginner, which I think is fair - there's nothing particularly complicated about the pattern, but there are a couple of steps that might be a bit challenging for an absolute beginner. 

There are some nice touches in the way that the pattern is sewn, such as turning the bottom of the facing under and topstitching around the facing for a clean finish and the side slit with mitred corners at the hem.

The fabric I used for my dress is a cotton sateen that I got from Sew Me Sunshine last year (unsurprisingly, it's no longer available). It's probably on the heavier side of the fabrics recommended for Reynolds, and it has slight stretch whereas non-stretch fabrics are called for, but it is only slight stretch and the fabric has reasonably good drape so I thought it should work out OK. Thankfully I think I was right. 

It's worth noting that as my print was non-directional, I was able to cut the dress out of just over 1.5 metres of 150 cm wide fabric, which is less than suggested in the instructions.

I'm really pleased with how my Reynolds top and dress have turned out, and think I'll be wearing both of them a lot. It's the kind of garment that allows fabric to shine so could look very different depending on what print or fabric base you used. I can definitely see myself using this pattern again!

Ankara Reynolds x Peppermint Loungewear Set

Hot on the heels of the coordinating set that I shared last week, here's another! Although I think we can agree that this week's combination of Ankara fabric, a strappy top and less swishy trousers have quite a different feel about them to last week's blue viscose creation.

I've been wanting to try sewing with Ankara/African wax print fabric for a while now and was finally given the push to order some by Ankara appreciation week, which was hosted on Instagram recently by Lena King and Juliet Uzor. Thanks to their inspiration, I found this lovely print at Ankara Shop - I really liked the colours and the fact that the print was bold but slightly smaller scale than some other Ankara fabrics. 

I wasn't disappointed when it arrived! The colours are just what I wanted, and I love the fact that the background colour is dark navy rather than black. It's quite crisp and doesn't have a lot of drape so you need to consider that when choosing patterns to make with it, but unsurprisingly for cotton it's very easy to work with so once you've picked the right pattern the sewing itself is plain sailing.

When it came to picking patterns, I knew that this time I wanted to use the new Helen's Closet Reynolds as the top. I was fairly confident that the cropped top version of Reynolds would work well with this crisp cotton, and thankfully I was proved right.

I like the top so much that I'm actually making a Reynolds dress this week so I'll write another post talking about the pattern in more detail once that is finished. If you want the abbreviated verdict though - it's a great pattern with good instructions and the sizing seems accurate. More to come in the not too distant future hopefully!

As for the trousers, I originally intended to make the culottes that are featured in the book Sewing with African Wax Print Fabric by Adaku Parker, but when I came to trace them out it struck me that the overall shape of the pattern is actually fairly similar to the trousers from the Peppermint Loungewear set which I made recently. Being as I had that pattern traced out already and knew that it fit me, it seemed sensible just to use that. So I'm possibly taking the concept of secret pyjamas a bit too far by wearing a pattern that's intended to be loungewear as actual trousers, but that really doesn't bother me!

I think that the finished set works really well together - it's definitely a good combination of fabric and patterns. I also really enjoyed working with the Ankara fabric, and there's still a fair amount of the 6 yard precut that I bought left so I'm looking forward to finding something to sew with that. And I'll definitely be using more Ankara fabric in future!