Skip to main content

Made By a Fabricista: Warm and Cozy Sweater Dress

HI Fashionistas!

It's getting so cold and I plan on doing everything in my power to stay warm!

I am that person who is always cold.  So when I saw this sweater knit with a fleece backing, I was intrigued! I made this dress and have a little bit leftover that I am hoping to use for a top.

I used this fabric, which is a sweater knit that feels like fleece on the inside. It is very nice and warm. This is my 1st time sewing a sweater knit and I loved it. It is very forgiving as the texture hides and sewing mistakes :)

I made the sleeves super long so they can be pulled over the hands, something I do often in clothes I make (Don't you love how we can customize our clothes ?)


For the pattern, I used McCall's 6886 that I previously used HERE

Here is the back view:


And front:

LOVE the drape on the cowl.  It is self-lined, so super warm . I free-handed the cowl neck. It was very easy to do. I will be adding a tutorial on this on my blog soon.



You probably did not notice it yet, but the cowl neck is stand-alone

I really was opposed to doing this initially, but eventually decided to do it. I have been wanting to simplify and downsize my wardrobe, so having pieces that can mix and match to create more looks is key. Deciding to make the cowl separate allows me to wear both pieces many ways.

The black dress can be worn with many other scarves, and the chunky cowl can be added to other looks as  neck warmer.


I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I would love to sew with this fabric again! I highly recommend it. Let me know what y'all are working on. Love to hear about your sewing projects.

XOXO

Comments

  1. Lovely dress. I've adapted this pattern to make a similar sweater dress, though unfortunately my cowl is plenty smaller. Really like the idea of making the cowl separately.
    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ok now I have to buy a couple yards of this fabric! Super cute. I love the cowl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tiffany, I want to get some more too.. This is my favorite garment at the moment..

      Delete
  3. Love the cowl part - was thinking of doing the same thing on weekend project in red.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's gorgeous! I watch a little bit of you scope when you were drafting the cowl. Great idea making it the way you did!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Linda! My experiment went flop so I just free handed the cowl by folding the fabric (a rectangle ) and putting it on and adjusting it until I was happy with it.

      Delete
  5. Great idea with the cowl. Dress looks fab.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this dress! I just discovered your blog! I am a beginner in sewing and really enjoy reading about all your sewing projects. You are so talented, and I love your style. Could you kindly provide for the fabric you used for this sweater dress? The link you provided doesn´t work. Thank you so much! Best wishes from Charlottesville! Rou

    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

Sewing With Intention: New Look 6106 and a More Coordinated Wardrobe

Sometimes a sewing project begins with a beautiful piece of fabric or a pattern you just have to make. This one began with my closet. Recently, I did a major closet purge. I took a good look at what I actually wear, what I kept reaching for, and—maybe more importantly—what was missing. Once the pieces I no longer loved or wore were gone, something became very clear: I want to be more intentional about what I sew next. Instead of sewing individual pieces that I love but don't necessarily wear together, I want to build a wardrobe where my handmade garments coordinate with the clothes I already own—and with the pieces I'm planning to sew next. For this month's Fabricista project, this beautiful lightweight shirting from Fabric Mart turned out to be a wonderful place to start. The Fabric That Started It All Fabric Mart provided this beautiful oatmeal and black heathered shirting , along with the matching thread for my project. One of the things I love most about this fabric is ...

The Perfect Plan for this Linen Blend! Until I Changed My Mind.

Hello Sewing Friends!  It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews with another Fabricista make.  When I saw this linen blend designer fabric on the Fabric Mart Fabrics website, I was intrigued.  After all, I, like many of you, love to find designer fabrics at an affordable price. It is a linen/nylon/rayon/Lycra blend, and I wondered what the designer had created with the fabric as I wasn’t familiar with that combination of fibers.  Surprisingly, I discovered a sleeveless, lined, mid-length vest in the same color with an almost identical fabric composition. Perfect! I’ve been wanting to sew a longer vest with matching pants, and that discovery confirmed this fabric would work beautifully for the look I had in mind.  The vest I’m wearing, from the June 2026 Burda Style magazine, it is not what I was originally going to make.  You see when I found the designer’s vest, I remembered seeing a Butterick pattern that was almost identical.  I ordered the pattern excited to...

Fall + Flannel = Shacket

If there is one piece that transitions easily between crisp fall mornings, mid-day warmth, and chilly autumn nights, it’s a shacket. Today, I’m excited to share my latest Fabric Mart make: the Ellie and Mac Patterns Connie Casual Shacket, sewn in a dreamy plaid flannel coating fabric . Here’s a glimpse at how it came together, along with a few construction tips for planning your own version! The Ellie and Mac Patterns Connie Casual Shacket pattern offers plenty of options needed to make the perfect transitional top layer for fall. With a relaxed body, oversized sleeves, three lengths, and a curved or straight hem option, you can make your dream shacket a reality.  For this sew, I selected a plaid flannel coating fabric with a soft blend of sage green and cream tones from the Fabric Mart website. Heavyweight flannel is ideal for a shacket because it provides structure and added warmth. As a bonus, this particular fabric is extra soft and snuggly, which I love. In addition to the fa...

Return to work wardrobe in ITY – which is your favorite?

In June of this year, after spending nearly 11 years at my place of employment and after restructuring and cost cutting, I took a separation package. I was so fortunate to be able to take a few months off, and also to very quickly find a position with a new company. I start my new job on September 14th and I’m super excited!  This new position is also different for me in that it is local to my area (whereas before I worked remotely and traveled to the office every few weeks) – so I’ll be going into the office three times a week. So of course I needed to sew up some new outfits! I’m a huge fan of ITY knit fabric ; ITY stands for interlock twist yarn, which describes the way the yarn is knitted together. I love it for tops, dresses, skirts, and even pants: it’s comfortable, easy care, low wrinkle, and comes in so many beautiful prints. I sewed up three new outfits over the last two weeks and I’m excited to share them with you today! Oh, and also – I need help choosing what to wear fi...