First Fringe Dress!


Dresses, Handmade Wardrobe / Sunday, September 30th, 2018

 

Ooooooh this dress! This was my first Fringe Dress by Chalk & Notch and will not be my last! There are two neckline options, two sleeve options, multiple waist-tie options, optional pockets, and it can be made in either a shirt or dress length.

 

I love the act of making, creating, and sewing in itself, but sewing allows me to create the wardrobe of my dreams & clothes that fit properly. So I made a few modifications to this pattern in the skirt.

 


MUSLIN

I made a muslin, but it really wasn’t that helpful bc the fabric was so different from the fabric for the real dress! You sew and learn. My muslin fabric was poplin with no give at all, and the actual dress fabric was rayon, which has a bit of ease. The pattern is very well designed so I probably didn’t need a full muslin. I think you could get away with doing a mock-up of the bodice only.

 

FABRIC

Art Gallery Indie Folk 100% Rayon from Fabric.com

This fabric is to die for! It’s silky, light, colorful, and easy to wear. I was nervous to work with rayon for the first time, but it was pretty easy to work with. I think I want to make a million things with this fabric.

The pattern calls for 2 yards, but I ended up ordering 3 yards for this dress (just in case), but didn’t use it all. I probably have enough to make the shortened blouse version with the remaining fabric.

Besides the neckline, one of the things I love most is the curved hemline, which also shows off this fabric.

PATTERN, SIZE & MODIFICATIONS

I made a size 6 for the bodice, and size 0 for the skirt, but lengthened it to a size 10 or 12. I prefer dresses to hit just above the knee.

For this dress, I chose version B because of the gorgeous faced neckline that comes to a notch in the center. It shows off this fabric perfectly! (But you can see in the photo above that I didn’t quite match the front pieces exactly.)

The major modification I made to the pattern, was at the waist. I don’t like the way gathered dresses look on me, so instead, I used darts on the skirt, which match up with the bodice darts. I also attached the full front piece to the back along the side, instead of sewing the skirt to the bodice like the pattern instructs.

I decided to make the ties a lot wider and also a lot longer than called for and attached them in the front. This way, I could tie them in the back, OR wrap them around the back and tie them in the front.

 

 

As I was making this dress, I kind of wished I had made this dress a maxi because the fabric was so flowy and beautiful. But it is a great summer dress.  Next time, I will definitely make the tunic/shirt length!

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