Victory Patterns Lola dress

Victory Lola

Just squeezing in one more make before Christmas! I had an unexpected day off on Friday so had a selfish sewing day – after all the gift buying/sewing it felt pretty good.

Victory Lola

I’ve had Victory Patterns’ Lola dress on my radar for a while – lord knows I love a comfy day dress, and look at those POCKETS – but to be honest I was put off by all the panels, imagining all the little pieces that would need to be cut and assembled. I finally bought the print-at-home pattern after seeing some beautiful versions from Rachel, Lauren and Dixie, and found my fears completely unfounded: this lovely little pattern comes together very quickly and is a delight to sew.

Lola dress

In fact I think the panelling details make this a more enjoyable project to sew than a regular dress pattern: it all whizzed up quickly on the overlocker and every piece fitted perfectly into place. I love the bodice, with its flattering princess seams, and how the edge panels wrap around with no side seam. And the raglan sleeves!

Victory Lola

And did I mention the POCKETS? Love it all, really.

Victory Lola

I was a good girl and used up some stash fabrics: a solid grey ponte knit, part of a big remnant piece from Rolls & Rems, and a lovely crescent moon printed ponte from Minerva (the rest of which has gone into a Christmas present!). The shades of grey aren’t a perfect match but I think they look nice together and make this casual sweatshirt dress a little bit smarter. I omitted the triangle neckline decal and the ribbing panel on the bottom, and also just used the ponte instead of ribbing at the neckline and cuffs.

Victory Lola

Victory Lola

Victory Lola

I didn’t toile as I was using stash fabrics, but I would recommend it as I found I needed to do a bit of adjustment which was tricky to retrofit. I cut a straight size 6 according to my measurements but found it a bit loose around the middle and too long in the body. I was able to fix the length by taking about 1.5″ off the bottom panels, but it’s still a little baggy around the middle as I couldn’t really alter it once constructed. I will adjust the pattern pieces to fix these bits before making another Lola (yes, I’m sure there will be more).

Victory Lola

It even goes great with my coat! I love a me-made outfit day (apart from the leggings, though I definitely want to make some of those next year too).

I think this’ll be my last post before diving headlong into a week or two of festivities, so hope you all have a lovely Christmas and see you on the other side!

19 thoughts on “Victory Patterns Lola dress

  1. Tilly

    There’s definitely something in the air as this pattern is next in my sewing queue. Yours turned out so lovely! Your fabric combo is great – love the patterned panel. Thanks for the tip about toiling up first… urgh… not sure if I can be bothered to do that, but since I haven’t sewn with Victory Patterns yet I guess I should. Have a lovely break! x

    1. Katie Post author

      I think that thing in the air is the cooooold so we all want cosy dresses! Look forward to seeing yours x

  2. angela

    Everyones version of this dress is so adorable and flattering! I love the color you chose and the contrast fabric. Looks great with your coat! I may have to give it a try as well…

  3. Michelle

    I love this, the ribbing panel at the bottom always put me off and I think it’s a much smarter design without. I’m getting an overlocker in 3 days time, I think it’s going to change EVERYTHING! :-)

  4. Lauren

    This turned out really cute! I love the way it looks with the colorblock (or, rather… patternblock? Right?). Gah, now you make me want to sew up another Lola. Thanks a lot! ;)

  5. Sally

    This is so cute and cuddly looking! I love the patterned panel in the middle! I so wish I could pull this dress off, but I’m just too hippy for those awesome side pockets! Enjoy it for me! :)

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  8. Fiona

    I would love to see your photos of this dress – they seem to have disappeared. Any chance you could fix this page? I really enjoy looking at your makes :-)

  9. Kellie

    The only tiny alterations I made to the original pattern was omitting the V detail in the front and the top-stitching on the pockets. I don t normally wear sporty clothes, so the V was definitely too much for my taste! I feel like leaving it out makes the dress a little bit more classy.

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