Made by a Fabricista: ITY Knit Ebony Raglan Dress.

I may be less active on the internet than I used to, and far more active as a school teacher than I ever thought I would be, but I still find time to at least visit my favorite places in cyberspace at least once a day.  And of course sewing blogs and sites are right up there.  Since I don't live under a rock, I have at least peered at one of the cutest "made by me" dresses that made the rounds in overabundance the last year, the Ebony Dress by Closet Case Files.  It is adorable in all of its iterations. :-)

It is also seemed to be a very quick make, and as this is one of my school year sewing needs (items I can cut and sew up in less than a few hours, as that is all I have most weeks between September and June), I asked Fabric Mart to send me that pattern stat.  I was a bit more unsure of what fabric to choose, and it took me a while to come up with a choice, but I eventually chose a very abstract paint splatter/animal print border print.  It is a very unique print, and I had to finagle the pattern to work with the border on the bottom, but in the end, it looks really special and pretty on...this fabric is gone, but there are a whole host of really unique ITY prints right now at Fabric Mart.

I knew I wanted the raglan sleeve and the collar (I think they are super fast sews), but the pattern was only for a top.  I was a bit unsure if I wanted to take time I barely have to make a traced pattern, but I am glad I did since I definitely want to use this particular pattern again asap.  I wasn't sure where to go and would have figured it out, but thankfully Heather Lou, the creator of the pattern, decided to do this very same "hack" a few months ago and has the photos of the creation and how to adjust the pattern.  Yay for making my life easy!

I lengthened my version to the length of the longest size, so it is perfect for work.  I also took out a bit of width on the side seams (I made a size 6) as I knew the ITY had plenty of drape so that even without extra fabric, it would still have that super relaxed loose shift silhouette that the original Ebony dresses all have.  If you notice above, I was very careful to place the pattern pieces where the side seams would match up perfectly where the border print line begins.  It would drive me mad to know they didn't match up at the side seams.

Anyhow, the sew itself was fast!  I even had to rethread my serger in the process (one of my spools ran out of thread), and even with that ten minute delay, I managed to sew all the bits up in around 100 minutes or so (I am including pressing and such here, too).  Yes!  So now I know I can get a very cute, comfortable dress sewn up as often as I want.  (Maybe a few more will come down the pike in the next few months?)

Here's a side view, where you can see how the seams match up at the border.  The hemline is swingy, so the border print doesn't run completely parallel to the floor, but it makes for a pretty front, with the middle of the border print up higher than the side seams.

I love the back view.  It fits so well!  The drape is perfect for my pear shape.  On the back, the hemline is not as swingy or uneven, so it stays straighter and more parallel to the floor, so the border print reads even too.

I look forward to wearing this and many future Ebony dresses in different fabrics!  Do you have any Ebony dress makes?  Have you used this fabric?

Thanks for reading, and happy sewing!

Dina--My Superfluities.