Hands up who wants to take a closer look at our gorgeous Indigo sewing pattern? Indigo is a smock top or dress that you'll want to put on day after day. With no zips or fiddly fastenings, you can quite literally throw it over your head and swish out the door to whatever you have planned for the day or evening.
See #SewingIndigo for major sewing inspiration from the community!
We love nothing more than making sewing patterns with loads of customisable options, and Indigo is no exception. With multiple hem, sleeve and gathering options, you can make one for every day of the week. And, have you seen that exposed frill seam? Swoon. To make things even better, and because we know you love them just as much as we do, the dress version also has pockets!
The Indigo top and dress sewing pattern is available in sizes UK 6-24 / US 2-20 / EUR 34-52 or UK 16-34 / US 12-30 / EUR 44-62. Want a little more help picking out which size range is best for you? Check out this blog post which guides you through the differences.
Are you excited as we are? We knew you would be, read on to find out more :)
THE DESIGN
Who doesn't love feeling comfy and stylish? This is exactly what Tilly had in mind when she designed Indigo. She found herself craving easy fitting garments that made an impact whilst still being oh-so-comfortable. And as they say, the rest is history. Indigo is an easy breezy top or dress with gorgeous added details to make your heart flutter.
Indigo has a bodice shaped with bust darts and has a gently curved empire waistline, with a floaty gathered skirt. Make her as a top with dipped gathered hem or a dress with added roomy pockets, with the option of either slim bracelet sleeves or whimsical flounce sleeves.
We are head over heels in love with the exposed frill seam in the office. We spent a long time developing this technique and you'll want to add it to every gathered seam in sight from now on. We've seen this detail loads on the high street this year, and just knew we needed to include it in this pattern.
THE SEWING PATTERN
Our award-winning patterns feature clear instructions with step-by-step colour photos to guide you through the project. The pattern pieces themselves are clearly labelled so you can see which seam is which and how they go together.
We've labelled the Indigo top and dress as suitable for confident beginners. If you've made one or two beginner projects, you'll be ready to sew Indigo. As this pattern has no fastenings, you won't have to worry about sewing any zips or buttonholes (yasssss!).
You can purchase the UK 16-34 Indigo as a PDF sewing pattern. You can either print it at home on A4 or Letter size paper and stick the sheets together, or send the A0 version to a copy shop or pattern printer to print full scale. Check out this blog post for our recommendations for printers in your area!
ORDER THE INDIGO SEWING PATTERN HERE
SHOP ALL OUR UK 16-34 SEWING PATTERNS HERE
The only slightly tricky parts are gathering the top or dress skirt, and inserting the sleeves. Gathering is simple to do, but making sure everything matches up properly and evening out the gathers can take a little bit of time. If you're new to gathering, choose the regular gathered seams version - it's simpler to do out of the two versions and has the added benefit of looking classic and lovely. If you want to add extra pizzazz to your Indigo top or dress, choose the exposed frill seam version for your gathered seams.
To help explain some of the techniques covered in the instructions, visit our Indigo Sewalong page!
Order the printed sewing pattern and we'll send you a beautiful package in the post. Made in the UK, our patterns are printed on durable paper which you can use again and again without it tearing or scrunching up. As well as our online shop, you can buy them from fabric shops and department shops around the world - check out our list of stockists.
Prefer to print and assemble your pattern at home? Buy the digital pattern and you'll get an email in an instant with a PDF to download. You can either print it at home on A4 or letter size paper, or send it to the copy shop to print large scale.
SIZING AND SUPPLIES
Indigo is designed for light- to medium-weight fabrics with drape, such as cotton lawn, chambray, viscose (rayon), tencel, double gauze, crepe de chine or georgette. There really are so many fabrics that are suitable for Indigo, which will make choosing your fabric even more fun (or difficult as you'll have so many beautiful options to choose from).
The brilliant thing about Indigo is that you don't need many notions to make her. Hooray! Check our shop page to find out exactly what supplies are needed (you will be pleasantly surprised). Aside from fabric and matching thread, you'll need approx 0.3m of interfacing in the same weight as your fabric.
For the most common fitting adjustments you may need to make to your Indigo, including combining sizes, lengthening and shortening the skirt and bodice, full and small bust adjustments and more, go here.
Ready to whip up an Indigo dress or three? We know here's lots of info to take in here, so here's a quick list of links so you can confidently order the version of Indigo you need next (remember to double-check which size band you have selected):
We always love seeing your makes and progress shots so don't forget to tag us on Instagram @TillyButtons using the hashtag #SewingIndigo so we can see your lovely creations.
*****
Photographer: Jane Looker
Hair and Make up: Laura Anne
Stunning Models: Paige @paigejoannaa, Rumana @thelittlepomegranate & Bethany @bethany_rutter
Fireworks and clementine rayon fabric: Ruby Star Society (gifted)
Lilac viscose crepe: The Fabric Room
Mustard floral crepe: Minerva Crafts
Indigo top with flounce sleeves and regular gathers in geometric cotton fabric
Indigo dress with straight sleeves and exposed gathers skirt in sage viscose twill fabric.
As always, all the love and thanks to our amazing pattern testers xxxx