I wanted to make something light and floaty and this pattern and fabric combo definitely hit the spot. The pattern is the Simple Sew Serena dress, however I've modified it in a few places - most notably the length 😜
The fabric is this super duper lush silk crepe de chine from Minerva 😍😍😍 Obviously I was first drawn to it's safari style print, then browsing the Minerva site I got super excited about its evident drapey qualities. I wasn't disappointed when this arrived.
The silk crepe de chine was quick to dry, easy to iron and press, reluctant to fray unless you really ragged it around, easy to cut without it going wavy and easy to maniplulate. Literally an absolute dream to handle! The only thing I struggled with with this fabric was fusing interfacing - the interfacing seemed very reluctant to stick to the fabric, and if I applied more heat the fabric did seem prone to shrinking a little - just something to keep in mind!
Lets just go back to the print design, I love the simplicity of the line and the two tone black and faun kind of colour. I can feel a bit exposed in lighter colours, but this off white compliments my skin tone a little more and creates the safari vibe! Leaf prints are very on-trend right now, and who doesn't love a tiger 😍🐯
On to the pattern adjustments - I had made this pattern 2x before, but I found both dresses are looking a bit worn and have a slight fit issues that I wanted to address this time round.
Firstly, I committed a second dart to the bodice from the arm scye. Ive snook this on as an after thought in the past so knew it needed to be there from the start this time. With this in mind, I thought I would need to add a little length onto the bottom of the side of the bodice to make up for the fabric the dart took up. I then added this length onto the side panel and back piece to keep it even (I later found I'd over compensated somewhere as the bodice and side panel met at a bit of an angle that I needed to amend when I tried it on...).
I noticed a bit of gaping at the under arms on the side panels of my last attempt, so I squeezed out a 1-2cm triangle at the top of the panel pattern piece before I recut. This just meant I needed to slightly true the curve at the underarm when I cut the piece.
The back of the dress is made up of a shirred panel. I highly recommend drawing the lines on to follow first! In the past I have used the foot-width as a guide, but it all gets a bit crazy and wavy after you've added 4 lines of shirring, so it's best to follow a guide. The pattern has the shirring at 1.5cm intervals - I would probably change this to 1cm in the future to give it a bit more spring.
I used the folded over top edge of the backpanel to insert a piece of flat elastic. This wasnt included in the pattern, but either my shirring elastic was getting a little old (anyone know the lifecycle of shirring elastic??), or I could have done with some more lines, as the panel wasn't quite as 'grabby' as I would have ideally liked. To combat this, I did make the panel 10cm shorter before attaching into the side back seeam. The elastic worked well though, and I think I would include this next time just to add a bit more stability to the back.
To further increase stability, I interfaced the straps and the front and side of the bodice. The fabric is really light and a bit see through and I didnt want the piece I'd used as lining to show through.
I slightly altered the bust darts - The still start and end at the same place, but instead of looking like pyramids, they look like houses with rooves! I'm sure there's a name for this?? Essentailly the lines change angle half way up before they meet (creating the 'roof'!).
The adjustments I made made for a much better fit this time around! If I make Serena again, I would move the front straps inwards a little as they do sit a little bit wide on me, but I'm really really happy with the fit, particularly the bust darts.
I was terrified that the overlocker would mash up the fabric with it being so fine, but overlocker and fabric were both very well behaved. I finished the dress with a lovely little narrow hem that keeps it light and airy, washed off my water soluable pen marks from the back panel then I was out in the sun 😎
x
Location: Loxley
Currently listening to: Hot In The City, Billy Idol
