So I promised more versions of last Tuesday's pattern. Get the full pattern and tutorial in that post! This is the newest version and there will be even more perhaps this weekend. I bought the fabric. It's happening.
This is actually one dress, one reversible dress. I called it the "Everyday" frock because it's made of knit and is super comfy. I decided to make it reversible because a lot of the knit I come across is very thin and see-through so you have to add some kind of extra material behind it. This kind of kills two birds with one stone.
Some things to mention about this reversible knit dress. When I sewed the contrasting stitches on the front I used a "knit stitch". It looks like this on your sewing machine:
This way the stitches were more stretchy AND they showed up thicker on the material. Also, you can't just follow the same directions of the original pattern. You're basically sewing two dresses and then attaching them at the neckline. However you can't sew the front and back bodices of each dress before you sew the necklines together. It's a bit more complicated but in the end you have two completely different dresses which makes it worth it. I didn't sew the hems to the other dress. That was just too much for my small brain. So I simply hemmed them separately and it was just fine. The only place where the dresses attach to each other is at the neckline.
I loved both looks equally. I usually have a favorite. I liked the contrast of the preppy black plaid and bling of the necklace. But for comfort I would choose the zigzag dress since you don't wear any shirt underneath it. I bought the super cute knit fabric at JoAnn's. It's called Doodles Sofia. See it here. Online there's only the orange, pink and grey version but my local store also had the turquoise, navy, pink and beige version I used for this dress.
Also, if it bothers you, be sure the pattern on your fabric lines up in the center when you cut your material. Otherwise it will be off centered like mine. I don't mind but I can see why some might so I just wanted to mention it. Also, I found that this (below) was the best way to arrange your pattern on the fabric so that you don't have to buy more than a yard. The back piece is on the fold and the front is along the edge. The sleeve just fits between them. Of course if you weren't using patterned fabric you could turn the sleeve 90 degrees for an easier fit.
Like not spending money? 
4 {comments}:
1972 Jackie O
Very extremely super clever! I love the idea of a reversible tunic like that, but never would have thought to do so - also as you say, is the perfect solution if the knit isn't opaque enough.
Super cute! Did you measure the amount of stretch in each fabric? Maybe that is not even an issue, but I was thinking that this would be the perfect pattern to allow you to attach the sleeve hem and bottom hem because you have that great center seam for turning. Thanks for sharing. I may try this.
@Anna ChristinaI agree! I definitely would be! I was just in a hurry and didn't have the time to make another tutorial with a new set of instructions. But yeah, with the middle seam you could definitely make this without any openings.
Post a Comment