Made by a Fabricista: The Classic Erica Dress

Happy Saturday Loves! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and a great start to the New Year!  I really did NOT do any sewing as planned during the last week of 2019 and this first week of 2020.  I pretty much spent the break relaxing, sleeping and working with my Cricut machine. Honestly, I did NOT feel guilty as I sewed more than 52 items in 2019.  I could NOT believe how many items I made after I tallied up the garments.  2020 will be a slow sew year as I am focusing on more crafting and building specific sewing skills such as couture design and coat making.

My first make of 2020 is "The Erica Dress," an indie pattern collaboration with Erica Bunker and Style Sew Me Patterns.  

 When the pattern was released, I knew it was a must make as I fell in love with the open back, the sleeves, and the side slit.  I requested this beautiful designer Boysenberry Rayon/Nylon/Lycra Ponte knit the minute it was posted on Fabric Mart.  If you know me personally, the knit I mostly sew with for my Fabric Mart makes is PONTE knit. 

I just love the fact that Fabric Mart designer Ponte knit has great recovery and stability.  I have sewn with Ponte knit quite a few times in 2019 (here, here and here).  Unfortunately, this color fabric is sold out, however, any medium weight knit or Ponte knit will work for this pattern.

My favorite blend, of course, is the rayon lycra nylon blend ponte knit as it is a little bit more structured than a polyester blend.  The viscose blend is also great for cardigans as it drapes beautifully and falls between the rayon and lycra.

Based on my curves and a more fitted look from the waist to below the hips, I graded between several sizes from the small bust to the medium waist and the large hips. I also wanted it to be longer so I decided to cut the XXL length.  The look I was going for was for it to be shorter than a MAXI and longer than a MIDI dress.

The dress is shortened by folding over the waist area!

 I opted to size down for specifics reasons to see if this pattern could give a fitted look from the hip down to the thigh area to see how it would drape if hacked into a maxi. To create a shorter dress, I folded over the midsection, for a cute flirty look.

Here are a few tips  when grading between multiple sizes from my own failures and personal experience:

• Grade at the same place for all pattern pieces (front and back pictured here).
• If grading between multiple sizes eg. small to a large, grade from the small to the medium and them to the large.  
• If grading between 2 or more sizes, try grading with a meter stick first then a curve ruler especially for long skirts and pants.  

I definitely see a few hack possibilities with this pattern and have already cut my first one which is a top for Valentine's day with some PINK Ponte knit.  I shortened the sleeves to fit above the elbow and reduced the neckband by 3 inches. In addition, I will be using 2 buttons on the back of the neckband for closure. I am so happy that Erica Bunker did a YouTube video sew-along of the pattern and top hack which definitely helped as I am a visual person.

 I am back in the swing of things and will be making a few cardigans over the weekend. Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to stop by my Instagram page to watch my IGTV video saved on the grid with an up-close look of the dress.  What are you working on this weekend? Do you have any specific sewing goals for 2020?

One Love,
Marica - Overdriveafter30