I got the fabric for this dress in Antwerp way back in 2014 (!) in a shop that I can’t remember the name of and that I probably wouldn’t be able to find again. I had a voucher to spend which was my prize for taking part (and coming last) in the Belgian/Dutch online sewing competition ‘Sew it up‘ that Hanne and Caroline used to organise. So, wow, it has taken me four years to make something with this fabric! It is a soft drapey viscose that was way easier to work with than I anticipated and I’m glad I kept it for so long until the idea for this dress was born.
The pattern was the result of a day of pattern drafting experimentation! My favourite part is the cut-out back, although I think I’ll be wearing this with a top under it and tights from here on in as the wintery weather has just arrived in Belgium.
Here is a photo of the bodice pattern piece in case this is useful to anyone interested in drafting a similar pattern. Be careful with this type of ‘French dart’ as you can end up with a ‘pointy boob’ situation if the end of the dart is too close to the apex of the bust, so it can be worth shortening the dart a smidgen more than you would if it was in another position. As this fabric is really busy it is pretty forgiving but in a different fabric the darts might look slightly off. Not that anyone should be paying that close attention to the dart positions on your clothes (unless they are a fellow sewing aficionado).
The skirt is a slightly modified version of the skirt I used for this dress. For the sleeves I followed the ‘very flared sleeve’ method from Winifred Aldrich’s classic ‘Metric Pattern Cutting for Women’s Wear‘ book.
For the back, I cut two pieces that look like this:
I wore this dress to my dear friend Anna’s wedding on the Isle of Mull recently and as always seems to be the case when I make something for a particular event, somehow I end up hemming it at 1 in the morning the day before I need to get a train or a plane…all part of the fun! (You can read more about Anna’s wedding in my last post as I also made her wedding skirt!)
These pictures were taken a few weeks ago just before all the leaves on this tree started to fall!
This dress is so lovely!
Maybe you bought the fabric at Julija’s shop in Antwerp?
Author
Thank you so much! Julija’s sounds like it might be the place, the pictures online certainly look familiar, I’ll have to go there again when I’m next in Antwerp 🙂 Nice to discover your blog, so many lovely creations!
Hihi great that you found the shop again. It’s a nice place for fabric and wool lovers 😉
Thank you so much! I like your blog too!