Let’s be honest, me and wrap dresses and tops have a thing. It’s a bit of a sewing love affair. They agree with my figure and my figure agrees with them. lol. Fortunate for me, they are ubiquitous in the sewing pattern world.
Just about every major and indie sewing pattern brand has a few in rotation. Too many to recount, but I’ve tried plenty over the years and I’m still going strong. Case in point, one of my latest DIY creations is a top by Vogue patterns #V9315. You can view the post for the top here and my OOTD styling.
So the latest pattern try is this dress from Burda Style. This is from the February 2019 issue, pattern #117.
The original is long sleeved and color blocking is done at the cuff. For some reason I just couldn’t vibe with the rear-view of having the entire dress one color with an odd color sleeve. So my solution was to simply omit the sleeves and to color block one of the panels.
Can I tell you that I deliberated long on this solution and even went to IG polling for feedback. I was just about to give up on the dress because of my dilemma with a random sleeve color. But the IG sewing community is so dope and supportive. They convinced me to hang in there.
So here is the end result! It fits. It makes sense and I feel great wearing it.
Sewing Alternations
I made a few alterations.
- My main pattern detour was to omit the sleeves.
- The second major alteration was a change in fabric selection. This pattern calls for a jersey fabric. I opted for a woven twill that has a nice drapey hand to it. Both fabrics I found at my favorite local Maryland spot, G Street Fabrics from the $2.99/yard clearance table. With that in mind, I selected a size up from my normal sizing to accommodate the lack of stretch.
- I also added a lining. All lining pieces were cut from the original pattern pieces, but in their “opposing” colors to the fashion fabric. Laughingly, this took some thought to remember to cut and sew accordingly. Throughout the construction, I placed the pieces on my mannequin as it would be worn to make sure I was sewing it correctly.
Styling
- Accessories: This bag is vintage…i.e. a great Gucci shoulder bag I bought years ago, as in 30 years ago…so does that qualify as vintage? lol! Naw, it’s just an old bag that I love and thank God Gucci is still hot.
- Shoes: Macy’s
Really nice !
Thank you so much!