Bloom Dress and Top

Take a pause, petal, and lay your peepers on the beautiful Bloom!

This dress and top pattern is a delightfully dreamy design that’s sure to feel at home in your me-made wardrobe. The smock style is the perfect throw-on-and-go design, with enough ease that you can pull it on over your head, but with bust darts for shaping. The darling keyhole and tie closure at the back of the neck is a sweet touch that makes the bodice super special. Finished with French seams throughout, Bloom is a satisfying sew for the intermediate sewist, which comes up looking as beautiful on the inside as it does on the outside!

Now let’s talk about customisation, because boy, have you got options! To create your bespoke Bloom, choose between the dress and top view, then decide if you’d like mid-length sleeves which feature a keyhole and tie closure or long sleeves that gather into a fixed cuff on the wrist. If it’s the dress view that takes your fancy then you’ve got one more decision to make. The skirt pattern offers three cutting lines, inviting you to choose between on-the-knee, midi or maxi length. It goes without saying that the Bloom dress view includes spacious pocket bags, which are anchored in the waist seam for added stability. See what we mean about options? The Bloom is the perfect pattern to let your creativity blossom!

This pattern was created with the support of the lovely folk at Rare Patterns Boutique Fabrics. Featuring exclusive in-house designs showcasing founder Michelle Holik’s beautiful handpainted artworks alongside collaborations with talented artists such as Carolyn Quan, the range of natural woven fabrics is as individual as the sewists who create with them. Designed to inspire creativity and produce garments and accessories that are made to last, Rare Patterns’ range of premium-quality linen is both beautiful and kind to the planet.

If you’re seeking a soft and floaty look that really leans into the smock style then choose a light- to mid-weight linen, seersucker, viscose, rayon, double gauze and the like. These fabrics will soften the seams and the gathers, making for a very delicate and drapey Bloom. If a structured look is more your style then opt for a crisper cotton such as cotton lawn or poplin.

For our versions of the Bloom, we used fabrics by Rare Patterns. We went for the super drapey quality of the impossibly soft, floral printed ‘Blossom in Spring’ 150gsm 100% linen, and we also chose the stunning yarn dyed ‘Heirloom Grid’ 130gsm 100% linen in the colourways ‘Classic Blue’ and ‘Butter’.

Dress or top? Long or mid-length sleeves? Mini or maxi? All options are bloomin’ perfect. 🌸

• Instruction booklet
• A0 format pattern (copy shop)
• A4/US letter format pattern (print at home)

Nab this pattern for free with the digital copy of Issue 65, and free with the print edition (valid until 28 February 2027).

PHOTOS: Kelley Sheenan
MODEL: Mariah @Mariah.Sews.Things
SEWIST/INSTRUCTIONS: Laura Jackson
PATTERNMAKER: Betsy - Garmenta Apparel
FABRIC: Rare Patterns Boutique Fabrics