Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Vintage Linen Wrap Dress

Recently, a friend's mother passed away and after a few months of grieving, that friend kindly invited me over to dig through her mother's fabric and patterns. I spent nearly four hours going through all of the old sewing treasures. There were so many great things in her sewing room. I walked away with a gallon size bag full of vintage buttons, a couple of sewing books, and this one wrap dress pattern!

This is a vintage pattern of Very Easy Vogue 9276.



Last month I placed an order at Fabric Mart for three yards of this cobalt blue linen fabric. At the time I wasn't sure what pattern I was going to use with this fabric, but I knew I wanted to sew a dress. Three yards is my go to amount to purchase when I am sewing a dress. (This linen fabric is no longer available, but look around at all of the other linens at fabric mart, there's a great selection.)

When I found this pattern, I knew the fabric, pattern combo would be perfect! Linen is so timeless and so are wrap dresses!

I sewed a size 12 in the pattern, which is the smallest size my pattern envelope came with. I definitely want to make this dress again, but I need to make a few changes for my next sew.


The bodice of this dress is designed to be very form fitted, and as you can see from the photos, mine blouses out a bit. I added a small hidden snap where the wrap of the bodice crosses (for modesty), but if I had taken the time to make a muslin, I doubt a snap would be necessary.


The pattern calls for external buttons at the waist to hold the wrap together. Instead I added the buttons to the inside of the dress to keep this dress looking a bit dressier. I love the casual look of the buttons on the waistline so I will definitely do that on my next version!



I love my new linen wrap dress! I wore it this past weekend to a wedding, and I'm looking forward to wearing it this coming weekend for Easter!  What spring sewing plans do you have in store?

Thank you Fabric Mart for this great linen fabric!  Teresa from Dandelion Drift

Comments

  1. What a beautiful dress, looks perfect for a wedding! Also what a kind friend to pass on another’s sewing treasures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for this post. I have this pattern but there's not a photograph of a finished dress on it and I'm in the process of getting rid of all my patterns for which I can't see an example of the actual garment due to a lifetime of fit frustrations. Your dress is beautiful and now I'm inspired to try this pattern. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Just Wear It Out!

Originally I wasn’t happy with my make this time around. I put it on fresh off the sewing machine and didn’t love how it fit. My elastic was slightly too narrow for what the pattern called for. I did end up putting a stitch to close up the v-neck on the top. I thought my sewing on the waistband looked sloppy and I looked kind of frumpy in the outfit. I was going to put the project down to fix later but decided to wear it out for some feedback from our web manager and one of the describers.  I ended up pleasantly surprised! The fabric is super comfortable and I felt really good wearing it. All the things I didn’t like kind of melted away wearing it out. The flaws were so small that only I noticed them. I think it’s important to remember that while striving for perfect seams and flawless construction is good, a handmade garment doesn’t have to be perfect to be wearable. This isn’t the first time I’ve softened on a garment after wearing, and it certainly won’t be the last! The 100% c...

Made By A Fabricista: The Sheer Volume Of It All!

This garment was inspired by a dress I saw in an ad, and when I went to purchase it (which I rarely do)…I realized that the dress didn’t come in my size. Ticked off and with $300 back in my pocket, I decided to draft it myself. The description listed the fabrication as a silk cotton voile, so I used that as a starting point to recreate the simple yet elegant silhouette.  My drafting experience is limited; I’ve only ever made garments that are pleated rectangles that fit into an elasticated waist. No darts, no complicated calculations, and definitely no sleeves. But I’d have that dress if it’s the last thing I do! I made a drawing, created a Pinterest board to document my inspiration, and narrowed down the features I really wanted to have: billowy bubble-hemmed bishop sleeves (say it three times fast!), a fitted and lined bodice, and a gathered tiered skirt. Finally, it was time to shop for fabric. I knew I wanted a silk blend of some kind, without breaking the bank. For weeks, I ke...

Made By A Fabricista: In Love with Linen

Linen is the best fabric to sew and wear. I selected a beautiful 100% linen from Fabric Mart that is a steel blue and cream floral linen to sew up a By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress pattern. The flowers look like Dahlias. I originally sewed a Toile from a black and white cotton bedsheet, wore the dress a lot but never made it again. I gave the Toile away to a friend who always commented on how much she loved the dress. When I saw this fabric, I knew I wanted to make the Hannah again. Linen is so easy to sew the entire experience reminded me why linen remains one of my favorite fabrics to sew. I look for a light to medium weight  European linen for a dress. I like a rayon or cotton blend with linen because it seems to have more drape and be more soft. Linen gets softer with washing and wearing it. This particular linen feels crisp and after ironing and washing, softens up. I like how Fabric Mart describes the fabrics as top, dress, blouse, shirt weight under “Use” and will describe...