Sewing the Folkwear patterns 123 Austrian Dirndl

I first learned about the Austrian Dirndl when I worked in Austria as a tour guide. For months I saved up my tips to buy my very own dirndl, apron and blouse at the local Trachtenwear shop in Bad Gastein. I was so delighted when I found the Folkwear 123 Austrian Dirndl sewing pattern. It was actually one of the first projects I made at the start of my sewing journey.

Dirndls just look so lovely and they can be made in such a variety of fabrics. They can also be decorated as much or as little as you fancy. I already have another dirndl project in mind; a black version with colourful embroidery inspired by the part of Sweden where I am from: Dalarna.

Black floral satin viscose

I made this version of the Folkwear pattern ahead of a trip to Switzerland. I had this lovely floral satin viscose sitting on my shelves at home just waiting to be used. The fabric gave me such a “folk dress” vibe so I thought it would work really well for this.

It’s a pretty straightforward project to make and it comes together quickly. I believe this is the B version of the pattern as there’s two different bodice options. The skirt is also just a gathered rectangle of however much fabric I had left after cutting the other pieces. I chose to opt for a zipper at the centre front and the trickiest part of it is making the little triangle gussets as it can be a bit fiddly to get them to sit right, but it was actually easier than I had anticipated. So far I’ve only made the dirndl dress itself but I will definitely try my hand at making the blouses and aprons at some point too.

I love wearing this dirndl over a white long sleeve, a red scarf and my Voriagh Aneta jacket or with my Silversaga Eleonora dress in white which looks like a folk blouse when worn underneath.