The moment of truth…I bought this fabric on a whim. When I got it in the mail, I still wasn’t sure what to do with it. I heavily considered a shirt dress from the beginning, but I seriously thought that it would look cheesy. Even as I sewed it, I doubted what it could really look like. I doubted the buttons I chose, I doubted every single detail. By the way, my buttons are from here.
But as soon as the dress was finished and I got dressed to take pictures I saw the full ensemble and fell in love. It definitely has a “Safari” theme to it -and that’s not a bad thing. I actually really like it, especially for Summer. I also like that it’s a midi, but a long midi so there’s a level of sexiness if I unbutton a few extra buttons. Y’all know how much I love to show a little leg. LOL.
So let’s get into the car facts! This is the Saraste Dress by Named Clothing from their book “Breaking the Pattern.” I’ve made a few other patterns from this book. This is their button down dress, which is a variation of the button down shirt that they feature in the book. I love this book a lot, and I enjoyed this pattern even more. I honestly think I will probably make a few more. Maybe for a late Fall look? And again in Spring? It’s definitely a classic capsule look for sure.
I made one tiny modification. The button stand does not call for interfacing (believe me I checked!) -and I didn’t have a lot to spare anyway. I ended up using my fabric to stabilize the stand and even though I’m grateful that it did not collapse on itself, I could’ve reworked a few things here. One, I’m definitely using interfacing next time and if I can’t I’ll use something stronger like linen as a stabilizer. I’ve thumbed through the book a lot and I still believe that this was an error or just a misjudgment not to include interfacing for this part.
My fabric is from Mood MD0374. It’s a voile, it’s very thin and wrinkles a lot easier than linen, but dear God it is perfect for this Summer heat. Because it’s so thin, I honestly thought I would need to line at least the skirt, but that was not the case at all. The recommendation from Mood was to use this for a lining, and they’re not wrong at all. It could be a lining for a nice pea coat or blazer, but it could also be a dress, just like this one.
Until next time. XO.
RAVEN MAUREEN 