Drumroll please... The new girl on the block is finally here and we're so excited - we've been desperate to share her with you!! Please welcome - the Jenna Dress!

As well as her nostalgic 90s-does-60s appeal -and you know Cher Horowitz would be all about this dress!- our favourite thing about our newest sewing pattern, the Jenna dress, is that she is the first of our patterns to come in our extended size range UK 6-24 (US 2-20)! We're so excited to be able to offer this, and all future patterns* to more women the world over, and we hope you'll be just as excited to make her!

Above: our pattern's namesake Jenna. She is wearing Variation 2 with the neckline of Variation 1. Crinkle metallic viscose fabric from The Cloth House

Jenna is a super elegant hip-skimming, leg-lengthening Empire line dress with a bias cut skirt. Featuring a darted bodice with two neckline and sleeve options that are entirely interchangeable, you can choose from a low square neck with short sleeves and a pretty tie cuff, or a demure jewel neck and optional Peter Pan collar with slim bracelet length cuffed sleeves, or any bodice-sleeve combination and skirt length you prefer.

Above: Leonia (Elisalex's littlest sister!) is wearing the Variation 1 dress in lace from The Fabric Store; bodice and skirt lined in nude sandwashed silk

The drapey nature of the bias skirt will benefit from a light to medium weight woven fabric with body. Having said that, we've seen it made in more rigid fabrics such as lace (see left!) and silk organza and she's still a peach! Opt for crepes, floaty, drapey or weighty silks and rayons, noil, flannel and soft cottons or linen. 

The bodice and sleeves can handle a wider variety of fabrics, including more stable wovens, so feel free to have fun experimenting with contrasting fabrics!

Above: Jenna is wearing the Variation 2 dress in navy polyester crepe from Rainbow Fabrics, with contrast lace collar to match Leonia's dress

As usual, we will be running a sewalong to provide further in depth instruction on the making of this dress complete with in progress photos. We'll be covering common fitting issues and pattern adjustment tutorials, as well as talking about the trickier elements such as working with fabric cut on the bias, and how to get the best results. The sewalong will be kicking off at the end of this month (May 2019), and once it's over you'll still be able to access all of the posts for all time, free of charge!

Huge thanks and shout outs to our beautiful models: the pattern's namesake Jenna, and Leonia, our cofounder Elisalex's littlest sister! 

Above: our cofounder Elisalex wearing the Variation 1 dress in lemon print viscose challis from New Craft House

Not forgetting the rest of the dream team! Thanks to our wonderful photographer Elodie Nizon, hair & makeup artist Poppy France, fashion illustrator (and bag maker!) Anna Walker, graphic designer Victoria Elliott and not forgetting our awesome crew of pattern testers! We couldn't do this without you guys!

❤
Team BHL xx

*we will also be going back through our existing inventory bit by bit to add the new sizes on, as well as developing a separate size band drafted to a larger cup size later this year.