Today I’m sharing my take on the Tend Patterns Riviera Dress (TPC 33). I like to think of this dress as having been made for the purpose of having a sunny Easter picnic in a field of wildflowers. As if I’d ever actually do anything like that!

This Trend Patterns Riviera Dress pattern was a bit of an impulse in-person buy when I was at the Stitch Festival in London in March. Trend Patterns was there with a rack of samples, so it was actually a really unique experience to browse through the rack of garments and choose a few patterns to purchase based on that. I definitely saw that I was drawn to garments which were different from those I would have selected based just on pattern drawings alone when I could see the made-up garment in real life. Despite being an impulse purchase (I blame the champagne bar, imagine if every fabric store had champagne available for purchase!), once I got home from London with a massive haul of fabric and other goodies, it was the first garment that called my name and wanted to be born.

I’ve sewn it with a floral printed double gauze, also purchased from the Stitch Festival.

This year (2025) was my first year attending the Stitch Festival, having travelled from the Netherlands for the occasion. And, well, what can I say, “where have you been all my life?”. If you’re in Europe, I would highly recommend getting yourself to London for a weekend with a near empty suitcase and returning full and satisfied enough to sustain you for months of sewing to come.

This was my first ever time sewing one of Trend Pattern’s garments and I found it a positive experience. Which is good because champagne happy satisfied Beck at the Stitch Festival partook in the 3-for-the-special-price deal. So I now have not one but THREE Trend Patterns in my collection.

The pattern calls for 5 metres of fabric. I have managed to squeeze it out of 3.5 metres! If that isn’t just getting by on the fumes of the tank then I don’t know what is. My pockets are literally each pieced together out of 2 or 3 pieces. And my dress is shortened by about an inch. But, I made it. With not even a handful of scrap fabric leftover.

How’s that for sustainable sewing.

I think what attracted me to the Riviera Dress was the interesting combination of the cinched in wide waistline, plunging neckline, interesting long sleeve, and pretty ‘I-was-a-princess-in-a-past-life’ skirt. I am often attracted to long sleeved dress designs for practicality. A bit of extra warmth. Or sun protection. But maybe find them often a bit dowdy compared to their show-me-some-skin short sleeve compatriots. I think that these dress finds a unique balance which avoids that trap by pairing a proper shirt sleeve with a plunging neckline.

My Trend Patterns Riviera Dress is a size 12. Not sure if I’ve missed something obvious somewhere, but I couldn’t actually find the body measurements in the printed booklet/pattern, so I searched online to figure out the sizing. I did end up taking the garment in a little bit at the waist from the original 12 when I installed the zipper though.

I did make a significant error when sewing this dress which was entirely self induced. When attaching the neckline facing, I thought it was odd that my facing seemed to be way longer than my neckline but just ignored this and cut my neckline facing down to size. How many times have I just blindly ignored the screaming alarm bells of one piece not matching up with another and instead tried to bluster my way through with a shortcut!!

Little did I realise that the facing was supposed to be quite a bit larger and that the two pieces needed to be carefully eased together. I ended up with a facing that was way too small given by decision to cut it down. And remember how I told you that I had absolutely no leftover fabric?

So I ended up putting some gathers and pleats into my neckline so that my facing would fit it. You can’t see it in these photos but the neckline on my version is visibly kind of waving.

But the thing is, and I’m not just telling myself this, it kind of looks rather architectural and deliberate and I think goes well with the vibe of the modern oversized cuffs, as well as the gathering and pleats across the bodice.

So it’s yet another failure that I’m going to declare an accidental victory. If only I could show this kind of resilience in every day life!

I really enjoyed sewing this project and love the finished project. Yes, I look kind of like what a fairy princess who vomits flowers might bring up after a night out painting the town red, but I’m going to own the flower princess vibe.