Made By A Fabricista: Embracing the linen wrinkles!

Hello wonderful sewists! Today I have a project that I have been meaning to sew for a while, but you know how it goes. Too many ideas, throw in some analysis paralysis, so many, many gorgeous fabrics to wear, and then, bam! Eons have passed. I’m working on sewing the plans that have been in my head the longest, which brings us to this dashing summer frock. 

This is the Style Arc Esther Woven Dress. The style is intended for lighter wovens and the design is ripe for color blocking with the included center front and back seams. You could make right and left sides match; go full checkerboard with opposing rear right and left front; or just use four prints and go wild! I’m sticking with the most basic of blocking and splitting the dress down the center. 

Importantly, I got matching threads for each linen color for all the topstitching. Matchy matchy is the name of the game in my book. I added bonus bartacks to keep the side seam pockets forward facing. 

Medium Sky Blue and Light Steel Blue were my final color choices, although a pink and purple iteration was second on my list. Most importantly, I wanted the fabric weights to match so that everything hangs evenly and isn’t distorted with too much or little drape between the two sides. And linen! Always linen. You can see these are both a nice and breezy weight! 

It’s admittedly taken me a long while to just embrace the natural wrinkling effect linen generates almost instantly when worn. To care for all my linen pieces, I give them a good shake out warm from the dryer and hang them immediately. Unless a hem is super scrunched, I’m mostly okay with the overall rumpled effect and skip the ironing. 

I sewed a quick muslin to double check the depth of the neckline and the height of the center front split. I left the entire neckline and armscye alone, and I lowered the top of the front split about an inch and a half. I cut a size 6 at the bust blended to an 8 at the hip. 

I added topstitching to the center back seam for no other reason that I had the matching thread and the will to do so. That’s a little touch of extra just for me. 

The front and back v-necklines are a delight. The facing makes getting a sharp center point easy, unlike sewing a knit neckband. The straps are wide enough to allow this to be a slip-on style with no closures, which is generally what I prefer. Nothing to get stuck on other items in the laundry, and nothing to fuss with or get my hair tangled in while worn. 

Esther is a fairly straightforward dress pattern with some great style details. If you’re interested in color blocking or combining prints, this might be just the pattern to start. Thanks for joining me on my summery sew! 

Happy sewing!

KATIE  | @kak513

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