Mia Dress 2.0

Some patterns arrive almost fully formed. Others take a few years.

The Mia Dress has been sitting in my pattern collection for quite some time now. When I first designed it, the idea was simple: an oversized beach dress that could be pulled on over a swimsuit after a day by the sea. Loose, airy, uncomplicated. The sort of dress that catches a breeze as you walk and never feels restrictive on a hot summer afternoon.

For a long time, that version of Mia remained exactly as it was.

Yet every now and then, while working on newer designs, I would find myself looking back at it. Not because anything was wrong with the pattern, but because my own preferences had quietly shifted over the years. The dresses I reached for most often weren't quite as oversized anymore. I still loved comfort and ease, but I also found myself appreciating a little more shape through the waist and back.

Eventually, it became impossible to ignore the feeling that Mia deserved another look.

Small Changes, Different Dress

The silhouette is still unmistakably Mia.

The square neckline remains, as do the delicate gathers that soften the front of the dress and frame the bust so beautifully. Those gathers are one of my favourite details. They create shape without feeling structured and seem to work equally well whether someone has a fuller bust or a smaller one.

The biggest changes happened quietly.

The fit through the back was refined and an elasticated waist was introduced, giving the dress more definition while preserving the relaxed feeling that made the original design so easy to wear. What surprised me most was how much difference such small adjustments made.

Another detail that became important during the redesign was the back neckline.

Summer sewing often celebrates dramatic open backs and delicate straps, and I love those styles as much as anyone. But the truth is that on most days I simply wear a bra. Rather than designing around an idealised version of summer dressing, I wanted to design around how I actually live. Raising the back slightly means bra straps remain hidden, making the dress easier to reach for on an ordinary Tuesday, not just on holiday.

The Fabric That Won

The sample was sewn in a double gauze that had been waiting patiently on my shelf.

Soft, slightly textured, and covered in tiny white floral sprigs scattered across a rich red background, it felt exactly right for the project. There is something about double gauze that suits this dress particularly well. The fabric has enough body to hold the gathers beautifully, yet remains light enough to move with every step.

Before cutting into it, though, there was a moment of indecision.

I narrowed the choice down to two fabrics and shared them on Instagram, asking for help choosing between the red floral and a blue alternative. As the votes came in, the red fabric steadily pulled ahead. Looking at the finished dress now, I think everyone made the right choice.

Two Metres and a Bit of Optimism

There was just one problem.

The pattern requires around 2.3 metres of fabric, while the piece sitting on my cutting table measured only two.

What followed was a familiar exercise in optimism. Pattern pieces were shifted, rotated, squeezed together and rearranged countless times. Every spare centimetre suddenly became valuable.

In the end, the dress came together, although not without compromise. The sample you see in the photographs is slightly shorter than the actual pattern length. If you sew your own version using the recommended yardage, your dress will have a little more length than mine.

It's one of those details that becomes part of a garment's story.

Sewing for Summer

While working on the sew-along, I was reminded again of how approachable this pattern really is.

Despite the generous skirt and all those gathered sections, the construction itself remains quite simple. A patient beginner could absolutely make this dress. In fact, if you're willing to use French seams and narrow hems, an overlocker isn't necessary at all.

I filmed an entirely new step-by-step YouTube tutorial alongside this update because I wanted the sewing process to feel as approachable as the design itself.

There's something satisfying about a project that looks substantial when finished but doesn't ask for complicated techniques along the way.

Bringing Mia Into the Present

One of the unexpected parts of revisiting an older pattern was realising how much my pattern-making process has changed over the years.

When Mia was first released, many of the features that now feel standard in my patterns simply didn't exist yet. Since then, every pattern release has evolved a little, and it felt important that Mia reflected those improvements too.

The updated version now includes layered sizing, making it possible to print only the size you need. The booklet has been completely redesigned, with new illustrations and clearer formatting throughout. It feels less like a revision and more like giving an old design the home it always deserved.

Looking Ahead

Although this dress was originally imagined as beachwear, I find myself thinking about it differently now.

Made in double gauze, linen, cotton lawn, lightweight viscose or other softly draping fabrics, it feels equally at home wandering through a market, meeting friends for lunch, or spending an afternoon in the garden. The beauty of the design lies in its simplicity.

And perhaps that's why I felt compelled to return to it after all these years.

To everyone who has been asking about Mia, waiting for its return, and sending messages wondering when the update would finally arrive, thank you. It means more than you know when a design continues to have a place in people's sewing plans long after its original release.

Patterns, much like wardrobes, evolve over time.

This version of Mia feels much closer to the dresses I love wearing today, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes next.