The Savannah Dress came into existence as a result of two things. This first was I fell in love with linen and was excited to design with it, and the second was my need for a comfortable summer dress to beat the heat, protect my shoulders from the sun, and have a flattering shape that I was confident to wear. And here it is, the Savannah Dress, to see you through warm weather in perfect style.

In a button front design with front and back darts, this dress has a flattering easy to wear shape that’s comfortable even when the temperatures soar. I love pockets on dresses (who doesn’t?!), so there are design options for front patch or side seam pockets, from which you can choose one style or use both.

Natural fibre fabrics are ideal for this dress, making it lightweight and a dream to wear. Linens and cottons give the perfect summer feel, and the scope to use plains or patterns is endless. You can make this dress in a range of prints and plain colours and each one will feel individual. Added to that the button front gives more opportunity to stamp your own look - make the buttons a feature or purely functional - giving yet more design options for unique looks.

You need some sewing experience to create this dress – ideally intermediate and up standard sewers – and I’ve structured the instructions so that the time moving between the sewing machine and ironing board is minimal (as with all my patterns, I want to make this dress enjoyable to sew with as little faffing about as possible!).

There are so many ways to wear this dress, and despite being designed for the summer heat there is no reason it can’t be worn with tights, boots and a cardi when it’s colder. However, when I designed it, I envisioned wearing it with gladiator sandals, wandering through vast grassy plains in the sunshine, and this is where it gets its name…the Savannah Dress.

There is a free video tutorial available on my website www.laurenvandermast.com.