Who loves a great pattern hack? I do! A really great pattern hack means I don’t have to measure, do a ton of fitting or make it all up as I go along for bust, waist and hip measurements. I can focus on creativity.

I bought Grainline Studio’s Farrow dress pattern at Sew to Speak over a year ago and before I went sewing minimalist. Since then I have decided I want to do and buy more meaningful projects and less willy nilly stuff. These focused projects would be more learning experiences to help with my sewing skillset.  So, I needed to use this pattern and I found the perfect beautiful hand painted Japanese style double gauze for the project. It was the perfect storm. Plus, I want those pockets!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to sketch out my ideas first to get a feel for how it might turn out.

It is hard to see here but I wanted my dress to have bounce and flow. To do this I cut it out on the loosest part of the fabric. An area called the bias. This was like a big fun puzzle trying to get everything to fit and be at a 45 degree angle.

Since I need to serge and sew my handkerchief bias cut pieces (that are now stretchy) I need to treat them like a stretch knit. This means turning up my differential feed on my serger to keep from getting wavering. Wavering is when the fabric gets stretched by the feed dogs and looks like curvy wavy bacon on the edges.

Here is the hack! I made the basic construction according to the pattern because I loved the silhouette and pockets. When it came to the bottom I added points to the skirt of the dress and cut slits to add the diamond handkerchiefs I made. It looks pretty simple but it took a lot of thought and planning to make sure all of the hems were done first and the edges were finished correctly for proper washing.

I also decided I didn’t want facings for the neckline and arm holes so I made bias tape. Last thing I did was make a little loop and a button to finish the back.

Behind the scenes~

Painted my new dress platform and added carpet to it last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had a fun sew day with friends that are getting ready to move. Check out Krystal’s Kaftan she made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had too much fun making with this upcycle jeans project. It was so easy too.

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh
Dream it, Sew it!

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Tracy McElfresh
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