Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are feeling relaxed and raring to go, despite the gloomy weather we're having at the moment. Today I'm sharing my first make of 2018 and she's a beauty! The 1940s Wrap Dress by Sew Over it has been a class for a little while and I know quite a few people have been requesting this pattern release since they first spied it.
The dress has a lovely collar with pleats on the shoulders and a soft A-line skirt. I made mine using some triple crepe which I bought from Sew Over It at The Knitting and Stitching show around 3 years ago. It's been patiently sitting in my cupboard waiting for the right pattern and this was definitely it! The fabric has a lovely texture and the weight means it hangs really beautifully.
After making a toile of the bodice I made a couple of alterations;
- I reduced the width of the shoulders as I found the sleeve head was sitting off my shoulder
- Shortened the bodice length
The pattern states that you can secure the dress using press studs or buttons. I opted for the later for peace of mind - I didn't want to bodice popping open!
The construction of the dress isn't too complicated however I did struggle a little with the neckline binding. I think this was down to my choice of fabric rather than the pattern. You attach the binding to the collar so you end up with the seam allowance of the collar and dress inside the binding which I then struggled to get neatly turned inwards - it was all a bit thick. Next time I'll cut the binding from a lightweight fabric, some Liberty Lawn would work well here. I managed to get the long sleeved version cut from 3m of fabric (it's 140cm wide) which was great as the pattern envelope calls for 3.6m!
I wore this dress with my Emmy Design Ice Skater cardigan to the launch party for the new Sew Over It shop in Islington last weekend, the new shop is lovely and definitely worth a visit. Ray Stitch is only a 10 minute walk down Essex Road and you're another 10 minutes from Loop so you can visit all 3 shops on the same trip.
Until next time, Hannah x
Your dress is fabulous!! I struggled with the binding on mine too, and agree that it very much depends on the fabric.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Did you use a different fabric to make your binding? I'll definitely use a cotton next time.
DeleteGreat version. I'm hemming mine tonight which I made from a very lightweight crepe. So no issues with the binding but I had to line the whole dress because it was see-through!
ReplyDelete