Hello, sewing friends! I’m looking forward to sundress weather, full of floaty fabrics and pretty pastels. I was highly inspired by all the splendid springtime prints on the site, and I had loads of fun scrolling through the lengthy challis listings to find a few outstanding floral prints to combine into one bold and (hopefully) cohesive dress. Stuff like this gets me a little giddy, creating all the options and groundwork for something magnificent. I really think the fun of plotting and planning is the main reason I sew for myself; all the possibilities are wonderful to consider.
I chose to create a Chalk & Notch Marcel Dress in the midi length (there are also a mini dress and tank length included in the pattern). Marcel is a marvelous pattern for color blocking due to all those gathered tiers. Having sewn a few Marcels over the years, I will happily attest that this dress feels wonderful to wear with all that voluminous fabric swishing about.
This is a loose and billowing pattern, so a lot of fit issues are unlikely outside the above-bust bodice and straps. I gave a lot of care to getting the spot where the straps land on the back bodice just right, shortened them an inch, and that was about all I altered.
On this particular version, I went ahead and changed the straps to be a top and bottom piece each (rather than having a center back seam underneath as designed) in order to have an open side seam where I could sandwich the shoulder lace.
Since the Fabric Mart site has had a large addition of trims lately, I naturally found myself skimming through them to see what I could possibly add to this striking gown. I don’t often add trims or piping to my garments, but they are indeed a fanciful detail that I always admire on others.
When I saw these collar pieces, I realized that they are just about the same shape as a curved shoulder flounce, and they’d make a sweet addition to an already-adventurous dress. I opted to apply them with the narrower portion toward the front and straightened the curved inner edge to align with the strap, and then just sandwiched them into the shoulder strap’s outer seam. The natural curve of the collar edge helped them arch over my shoulders splendidly. Voila!
Naturally such a conspicuous and fearless dress deserved some love in the tiny details. I carefully thread-matched along the different fabrics of the bottom hem and the bodice.
The final cherry on top? I added my most coveted of Kylie and the Machine woven labels, this absolutely-charming-to-the-max rainbow Handmade tag to the back bodice.
I simply cannot wait to debut this springtime dress!
Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: CHALLIS.
This is a lovely fabric - great ideas to use for a dress! Love challis.
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