Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

 As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days.

For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months.

When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my vision. I chose the Crimson Red 100% Linen Shirtweight Woven because of its eye-catching color–and who doesn’t love a little red dress?

The Aspen Dress pattern (two size bands, up to  57 ¼” bust) features a midi length skirt with an exposed zipper front opening. It has a collar and half moon stand, two front pocket options (ruffled or non-ruffled), inseam pockets, and two sleeve options: a long sleeve that gathers into a buttoned cuff and a short sleeve option. As you may be able to tell from my pictures: I made some changes to the pattern to suit my preferences.

First, I’m 5’3” and while I love the look of midi skirts on others, I felt I needed something that fell closer to my knees and didn’t overwhelm my shape. I removed a whopping 11” from the skirt and it falls about 2” below my knees. I made a size 12 to correspond closest with my bust measurements (my bust is 36” and the b cup size 12 is for a 37 ½” bust). The pattern is pretty loose and flowy so I didn’t need to grade out for my waist and hips which fall in the size 14 size band. 

I’m relatively new to sewing in zippers. I have made a pair of “hard pants” with a zipper fly, and I have also made two Friday Pattern Company Arlo Jackets, and Simplicity 1499, a great vest pattern. I find sewing zippers more finicky than sewing buttons so I usually opt for patterns with buttons. However, I was really drawn to the exposed zipper on the front of the Aspen Dress. It wasn’t complicated to sew; I found the instructions to be really good and was very happy with my topstitching and the end result. 

Speaking of topstitching, I chose the non-ruffled pocket option and I love the two, large front chest pockets. They make the bodice of this dress so interesting with the exposed zip. The pattern also includes inseam pockets which I decided to skip. 

As I was starting on the collar stand, I realized that there was a lot of material high and tight around my neck. It felt a bit uncomfortable to me, so different from the soft linen sundress I was envisioning so I decided to remove the collar stand altogether. I instead opted to sew down the neckline with some red bias tape that I had on hand. I really love the look of the dress when it is slightly unzipped and find that I don’t miss the collar at all.

Finally, I went back and forth on the sleeves. As I have said, I was thinking about this dress as a transitional piece. I really like the look of the long sleeves with the gathered cuff but realized that I would be unlikely to wear this dress as soon as the weather moved into the 60s, while a short sleeve dress could easily be layered for all seasons. I was also pleased to see that the short sleeves were nice and long, falling at the model’s elbow. I sewed in the sleeves and ended up removing about 2” from the length as they were just a bit too long. When I removed the length, I also ended up hemming a ⅝” double fold hem instead of the deep hem the pattern provides.

I love this dress! It’s flowy but feels professional if I want to wear it to work. The soft crimson linen is stunning, almost shifting from a deep red in a vibrant brighter color in the sunshine. I love my new Aspen! I look forward to seeing how others are thinking about spring sewing–what’s on your list?

MARIA  | @whelanmaria