Over at Sew It Up, this month's theme is "your own style" We had plenty of themes already, but in this summery month of August we wanted to give everyone a free pass to sew something that defines who they are in terms of clothing!
I had to think a bit about this challenge, since I never really defined what's typically "my style". However, last Thursday
Anneke,
Caroline,
Lieke,
Stéphanie and I came together for an old fashioned sewing bee and we sewed all day. If there's a better way to spend your time, I haven't found it yet :-)
While trying on this dress I realized that this is what's so typically me: I like comfortable clothes made out of luxurious fabrics and if possible with special details. Mix them together and I am a happy camper :-)
That's also exactly what this dress is for me: it's super comfortable, quite stylish, feels great to wear and its back details make it a bit more special than any of the rack maxi dress!
Details
- fabric: rayon jersey, bought at Moens in Antwerp
- notions: /
- thread: overlock: ?/ coverlock: Serafil 329
- pattern: Skinny Bitch, Curvy Chick - Vesper Dress
- size: L at bust, S at waist, XL at hips
Measurements and size
My bust is 38″, so I went for a Large
My waist is 28″ so a Small would do
My hips are 44″, so they needed an XL
I graded between Large at the bust, Small at the waist and XL at the hips.
Pattern and Construction
The Vesper dress is a PDF pattern. I must admit that I found it very confusing to put together. I wasn't sure if I needed to trim the white spaces on the pattern and it turned out after measuring that it was not necessary. I glued them together, but the pieces didn't really match completely. It's not a huge difference, but I get a bit crazy about it if the lines don't match perfectly!
Instructions on the pattern are super clear and clever. I followed them, since there's a lot of binding to apply and I wanted the easiest method to do so.
Everything was constructed on the overlocker (serger) and the hem was done on the coverlock I'm currently borrowing from
Joost.
I also made my binding a bit wider than the pattern pieces provided do, I think 2.5 centimeters is a bit narrow, so I added 1 cm. This makes it a lot easier to handle! I noticed that due to the front pleat, the seam of the front pleat and the binding gets pulled outwards, so I added some coverlock stitching to secure it in place.
Adjustments & final thoughts
After first fitting, I decided to take the dress in at the sideseams from the top to the waist. I took out about 3 centimeters on each side for a better fit.
Also, next time I will press my hem before I take pictures. Being lazy for once shows immediately!
I must also add that I didn't shortened this dress from the original pattern. I'm 1.6 m (5'3") so if you are only a tiny bit taller and like a maxi dress you might want to lengthen the pattern!
I also noticed after a quick google search that the opening at the back is much more visible by other people who've made this dress. I'm going to guess that this depends on which size you pick and how snug you make this dress. Mine is still flowy and roomy, but I saw a lot of form fitting versions (they look fabulous too!) The fact that the opening on the back overlaps makes it more bra-friendly, which in my case is a must :-)
So, quite happy with this dress and of to make another maxi. It will be the summer of maxi dresses, that's for sure!