Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Liesl + Co Tropical Terrace Dress


 All of the sudden it.is.hot in the south eastern U.S. and I am ready to wear breezy, easy dresses like this one all summer.  I am over the moon with this dress, it was the perfect marriage of fabric choice and pattern....and that definitely doesn't always happen for me!

I snapped up this cotton shirting from Fabric Mart putting my request in as soon as I saw it listed.  I loved the color scheme, I am a huge fan of royal blue and black.  Also, I think its safe to say that I have a thing for palm tree dresses based on my October project last year.
So here I am again, wearing palm trees and loving it!

The shirting is all sold out but I think that its safe to say that any large scale novelty print or solid would work best for this dress.  I tried making it up in a small scale plaid and I'm not as pleased with the out come as I was in this case.  So I chose a few of Fabric Marts fabrics as suggestions...this challis is tropical and beautiful, this cotton poplin would be adorable with the border at the hem, and any of the solid color linens would look fantastic. 

For summer, its ideal to have a light/medium weight breathable fabric that isn't sheer.  It gets so balmy and sweaty here that its a must that I have dresses like this one that breath and move and allow flow of air around a body.  And cotton shirting and linens are great choices. 



The Liesl + Co Terrace dress is a pretty easy make, there are no zippers, no buttons, no closures of any kind and its cinched and given shape by the included obi belt.  I love the shape, I'm an A-line fan and the slight stiffness of this shirting helps the dress hold its A-line skirt shape.  The pockets are great of course and the instructions very well laid out.  The only change I made to the pattern with my second version was to lower the bust dart roughly an inch. 




I've already worn this dress to a party barn picnic, a birthday party and a kindergarten graduation, a fantastic dress can take you all the way through a bucket of events and keep going.  This is definitely such a dress!

Thanks for reading!
Happy Sewing!
Elizabeth

Comments

  1. Great dress! When I first saw that pattern I thought it was a bit plain, but your version in that fabric make it special! Great fit also, and it's like the perfect summer dress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It really has been so much fun to wear and I love a summer project that doesn’t take a month of weekends to complete.

      Delete
  2. That is a super cute dress! Love your fabric choice- I missed that one! Looks like you've found the perfect dress for summer.

    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.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Summery Stripes Set

Warm weather and linen go hand in hand! Our summer has been slow to show up with the heat, but bright, sunny afternoons have me all ready for light, swingy garments to stay cool. Wearing matching sets has been one way to make getting dressed easier when I hit decision fatigue since reaching for two items that already go together removes the need to plan or do any rearranging.  This is a lovely lighter-end-of-mid-weight linen in the most beautiful and subtle seaglass hues of grays and greens. This color combo strikes me as so calm and sophisticated, and a little stripe-play is perfect for details.  My tank pattern is the brand-spankin’ new Matchy Matchy Sewing Club Sunny Side Tank, just released this week. It’s a perfect little cropped A-line shape for wearing with high waisted pants or showing some midriff.  I made no changes to the extra small. The wide neckline is so elegant and this shape still gives full bra coverage to boot.  These really cute pants are the Mat...

Made By A Fabricista: A Fresh Take on a Classic Shirt Dress

Summer has arrived! That means longer days, soaring temps, and the perfect excuse for me to add another linen garment to my wardrobe.  Lightweight linen and summer weather just go together, don’t you agree? That’s why I choose this striped linen for my next Fabricista make. Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews ready to share my summer dress with you.  The tiny blue and white stripes combined with navy buttons give it a bit of coastal charm, while the details make it anything but a traditional shirt dress.  The fabric is a Ralph Lauren 100% shirt weight linen. The stripes are so small that from a distance the fabric almost looks like a solid color. One advantage of those small stripes is that I didn’t worry about whether they matched as I would have with a wider stripe :-)  The pattern I choose is McCall’s 8556, a shirtdress that, instead of a typical straight silhouette, has a gathered bodice, a fitted waistband that sits just above the waist, short, c...

Made By A Fabricista: The Ultimate Secret Maternity Dress

When you find the perfect summer dress pattern that also happens to be 100% bump-friendly, you don't just celebrate—you immediately plan to make it in every single color of the rainbow. At least, that’s the executive decision I made after sewing my first Tilly and the Buttons Mabel Dress for the Fabricista Blog. It all started with a classic late-night scroll on the Fabric Mart website, where I fell hard for a gorgeous midnight blue cotton lawn block print. I knew I wanted an easy-to-wear, breezy summer dress that could accommodate a growing bump, but I didn't want to buy a pattern I’d only wear for a few months. So, I turned to the internet.  After researching bump-friendly patterns, the Tilly and the Buttons Mabel kept popping up. Sewists everywhere were praising it for its ability to adapt to a changing body. Could it really live up to the hype?  Now that I’ve made one, I can confidently say: Yes. Absolutely. Here is what makes the Mabel so magical: ● The Silhouette: A...

Made By A Fabricista: Art In Motion

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tira from TIRACOOKS and I am so excited to share this project with you. When I first spotted this fabric, I was drawn in by how stunning it looked it reminded me of a living art piece. Then, when I looked closer, I noticed painted hanging plants in the print, which made it even more special. This fabric is one of my all-time favorites: chiffon. It cuts so smoothly, and the best part? Any wrinkles come out effortlessly with a steamer. Before cutting into anything, fabric prep is essential! Chiffon must be prewashed by hand in cold water with a gentle detergent or baby shampoo. Always serge or zigzag stitch the raw edges to prevent fraying. Submerge and gently swirl the fabric to wash never wring or twist it then air dry flat. I used a 70/10 needle in my Juki DDL, which is perfect for lightweight fabrics, alongside my Juki overlock machine. Look One: The Duster & Dress I was lucky enough to create two completely separate outfits from this fabric. The first...