Malika Favre inspired Grecian Dress

After the success of my Grecian Dress I made from the DIY couture book I knew I wanted to make another in different fabric. I found this fabric in a shop in Hillsborough called Fine Fabrics and fell in love with it. It reminded me of some of the design work my favourite illustrator Malika Favre has done in the past.

Malika Favre's Hide and Seek Exhbition

Malika Favre for Carluccio's
I was a bit worried about how thin and stretchy the fabric was, but it was only £3.99 a meter so couldn't really say no! Thankfully the fabric was woven not jersey so I didn't have the same problems I'd had when I made my first grecian dress, but I did find cutting the fabric accurately was difficult with it pulling all over the place!
I tried putting in a thicker piece of elastic as a waistband but it was disastrous! Sewing it along the top was fine but keeping both the elastic and dress equally taught while sewing around the bottom was impossible! I'm sure there is a really easy trick to it, but I have no idea and didn't want to risk trying again as I was already in danger of destroying my fabric!
Luckily I'd got a little strip of thin elastic sitting in my sewing box so I took my first attempt off and put that on the same way I had on my cartoon dress. I think I put it on a bit wonky :(

After putting on my elastic and trying on I found that this fabric was a bit flappier than the jersey I made my first dress from so I needed to make the bodice a little tighter. I sewed in a new set of seams up to the elastic to make it fit better and it seemed to work. Yay!

Beyond that the hemming and neckline was pretty simple. I cut the neck a little bigger as I pulled a thread on the fabric while cutting (such delicate stuff!) and tried to cover it up! You can still see it a bit but I don't think it's blindingly obvious.

x

Currently listening to: 'If I Don't' Secret Sisters