The Anthea Blouse and Dress Pattern from Anna Allen Clothing

In the time that I have spent sewing I have had moments where I’ve found a pattern that I’ve loved, made a bunch of the same thing and then never made it again. Well I’m here to tell you that the anthea blouse and dress pattern is not one of those instances. This is the only consistent pattern I’ve made. Since I made my first I’ve made many more with changes to each one. Either in sizing, skirt hacks, sleeve hacks or neckline hacks. Today’s post is focusing on the last two I made which brings my total up to 8 now! 

The first make is with a scoop neckline and ruffle hack with an added gathered skirt. I followed the directions on Anna Allen’s blog for this particular neckline hack. She graciously offers a new pdf print out for the neckline change as well. There’s only one critique I had for my version and that is how open the neckline is. I wonder if I should have sized down in my original pattern and then did the hack. It just felt very open up there and it’s fine when wearing it but bending over with kids I would be showing my goodies to everyone! Haha! 

The second part to this dress was the gathered skirt. I just merely cut out the width of my fabric twice with the length from the bottom of my bodice to where I wanted it to sit on my legs. Don’t forget to add a seam allowance if you choose to do this. I also stole some pocket pattern pieces from my bardon dress pattern and put those in. The last change I chose to do was french seams. Let me tell you, it’s super pretty but it plays with your brain when french seaming a gathered skirt. For this dress I used a fabric called Sophie from Ellie Whittaker Studio and let me tell you it made all my fairytale dreams come true. I feel like a total princess! 

My last anthea top is just the straight top pattern, no changes. I used another amazing linen fabric from Ellie Whittaker studio called sweetpea and it’s beyond divine. It’s so soft and I wore it all around Hawaii either buttoned up or open with a tank top underneath. 

So pretty much this post is just an appreciation post for this pattern that I’ve used so many times but each time it creates a completely different vibe. I cannot wait to make another and can’t recommend the pattern enough! Just be mindful of sizing as there is a lot of ease in this pattern!