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

I Sew, You Sew

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...

Help Our Buyers Shop!

Comment on this post with what you are looking for right now and our buyers will seek it out! I am craving wool gabardines and ponte knits in fun autumn colors. What about you?

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...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog