As someone with coeliac disease I never know when my stomach is going to balloon, and so I'm always on the lookout for stylish patterns that allow me to eat out/breath out without having to wear hold-me-in pants and this, my friends, fits the bill 100%.
Fabric
When I looked back at my makes from 2022 I realised I had used mostly plain fabrics. I think I find plains a bit more wearable day to day and even though I love prints, they are eye-catching and I don't always feel confident enough to wear them and catch people's attention. But after visiting Liberty of London's fabric department late last year i decided one of my 'Make 9' plans for 2023 would be to make something with Liberty fabric. This is actually deadstock Liberty fabric from The New Craft House, it's a lovely cotton lawn which is soft and drapey enough for ruffles but also has a little bit of structure to hold the puff sleeves. Also I thought the black background would work well for winter with black tights but also could be a good spring/summer fabric.
Cutting
I made a straight size 14, and cut the entire dress from 2.5m of 137cm wide fabric. The shape of the dress is very loose and I ended up taking it in by 1.5cm at the side seams so I think I probably could have got away with a size 12. I cut flat (apart from the front bodice which is cut on the fold) and made the ruffle out of 3 pieces joined together at the short ends to form a large loop. The busy pattern on the fabric means that you can't see the joins in the ruffle piece and I had minimal waste at the end. Deadstock + minimal waste = sustainable fashion :)
Pattern
This is the Trend Patterns Raglan Dress and I love it! This pattern has so many great design features - the curved raglan sleeves, the gathered front and - my favourite - the high neck and long neck tie at the back. The pattern is rated easy and to some extent it is. The dress has no tricky fastenings like zips or buttons and because of the loose shape it doesn't need fitting. However I did find some of the instructions confusing at times. I think I'm still at the stage of needing really clear, detailed instructions with line drawings rather than photos...I know other people can find lots of detail confusing so we're
all different and it must be hard to cater
for every sewist. I'm not sure how easy I
would have found it as a beginner, because in the end I half-followed the instructions and half-made it up as I went along!
Also note to others: the pocket instructions for the dress are standalone, but didn't come through with my pdf download. I cut two pairs of pocket bags and when I got to the end I realised I still had them! Thanks to Jess @sowhatifisew who'd previously made this pattern and confirmed that I hadn't lost the plot and to Lucy at Trend Patterns for getting back to me so quickly when I queried it (the day after giving birth I might add...now that is customer service!).
The hacked ruffle
bYou know I can't resist a ruffle! I wanted a dropped waist and just one ruffle, so I extended the blouse pattern length by 8cm on the centre front and centre ack then drew a line across to the outside edge to lower and straighten the bottom edge.
I measured the bottom edge and made the ruffle x1.5 as wide and 20cm deep (bottom edge of dress = 164cm, so ruffle = 246cm). I then sewed 2 lines of gathering stitches along the top edge of the ruffle piece at 0.5cm and 1cm from the top edge.
I divided the bottom edge of the dress into quarters with pins, and did the same to the top edge of the ruffle piece. I then matched all 4 pins and pulled on the bobbin thread of the gathering stitches until the ruffle and bottom edge of the dress were the same size. I pinned in place all the way around, right sides facing, and sewed with a 1cm seam allowance. Finally I hemmed the bottom edge of the ruffle piece with a 1cm double turned hem.
And I'm delighted! This is such a versatile pattern and I will definitely make it again. I've seen so many great hacks including a sleeveless version and a stunning maxi length dress from Well Fibre. I'd also like to make it as a blouse - the chiffon version on the Trend Patterns gallery is absolutely stunning.
How do you feel about wearing eye-catching prints? Do you go through plain and patterned phases like I do? And how do you push yourself out of your comfort zone with prints? Please share below!
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