Thursday, 2 October 2014

cynthia rowley 2054 dress…again…but this time its sleeveless

i really do have a whole pinterest board dedicated to patterns for knit dresses, but i just seem to keep making this pattern up.  i can generally get a dress with 3/4 length sleeves out of 1m of fabric so its just too easy when in a fabric store to get a metre instead of wondering how much i should buy for a different pattern.


i got this fabric at darn cheap fabrics on a recent trip to melbourne (the trip was to see the afl grand final, but being a sydney swans fan the highlight of my trip was probably my 5 minute dcf visit).  its a polyester knit with minimal stretch that goes up and down the fabric as i have placed it.  personally i think the pattern would look a little odd if i had put the stretch cross ways.


construction is the same as my other 2054 dresses e.g. shoulder and side seams, back darts (i added these myself as the pattern does not contain them) and hems.  pretty easy.  for this dress i had to let the side seams out to almost nothing to make up for the lack of stretch.

i did cut some 3/4 sleeves the same as my jaywalk dress, but when i tried it on after stitching the side and shoulder seams i decided to go with a sleeveless dress instead.  i think this will work well for hotter weather given that the fabric is polyester and the dress is close fitting.


to go sleeveless i cut a few mm's from the armhole between the front notches and back notches.  i turned the hem under on both the neck and armholes and stitched with a twin needle.  i was a bit worried how this would go given the lack of stretch but am pretty happy with how it turned out.


now having seen the pics of the dress on me, for future makes i will take a bit more of a curve out of the front armhole.

although i am keen to try some other knit dress patterns i can see a few more of these being made for summer, particularly as they only take a few hours to knock up. 


emma
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

16 comments :

  1. Unknown3 October 2014 at 05:44

    Getting a dress out of a meter is pretty good. This is lovely. Having the stretch go up and down is it stretching out of shape at all? Asking as I'm thinking of cutting a "Coco" out on the cross grain but have been waned it's not a great idea. I love this dress though, the shape is very flattering too you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:26

      Thanks Louise. I should have mentioned too, that the fabric needs to be wide (150cm) to get the dress and 3/4 sleeves from 1m, but luckily lots of knits are that wide. No the dress isn't stretching out, i think as there is minimal stretch that hopefully it wont stretch out with more wear either. Funnily enough though I did worry about this with my jaywalk dress as i put the stretch up/down and had a lot of seams weighing it down further, but so far its ok too. I do wash it after each wear though in the hope that the wash will keep it all springing back into place - not sure that's scientific though!

      Delete
  2. Measure Twice Cut Once3 October 2014 at 17:13

    This looks great, am sorry the grand final didn't go your way (as you know my knowledge of all things football of any code is utterly woeful) but glad that your trip resulted in this pretty dress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:27

      Thanks Susan! I can help you with some AFL football knowledge if you ever need!!

      Delete
  3. Amanda3 October 2014 at 22:54

    This is such a mod frock! Seriously loving the swinging 60s vibe :D
    I can't believe you got this out of a metre- beyond impressed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:30

      Thanks! The shift is such a nifty pattern for keeping the amount of fabric required down. I think I make them all the time cause I always default to 1m in the fabric store if I don't know what I am going to make but want to buy a fabric anyway!

      Delete
  4. Jenny4 October 2014 at 16:50

    I have the same problem as you: a total glut of inspiration to choose from -pinterest, pattern stash etc- but still keep returning to the same pattern. It can be hard sometimes to try something different when you're assured of success with TNTs. I love this fabric paired with this pattern anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:33

      Thanks Jenny - I agree I do go to TNTs a bit as it can be so disheartening putting effort into something new for it not to work out. I think I really am a sewer of TNTs - but hopefully fabric choices and pattern variations cover up the fact that most of my clothes come from the same few patterns!

      Delete
  5. Michelle5 October 2014 at 16:58

    I love this dress so much! That fabric is amazing. You're right - to go with the stretch would have just looked weird.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:35

      Thanks Michelle! I had to double and triple check the stretch of the fabric before cutting as it seems so odd!

      Delete
  6. Sharon6 October 2014 at 14:29

    Perfect dress for summer and the fabric is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:36

      Thanks Sharon, am sure this will get a lot of wear. Have my eye out for some great knits to make a couple more and am thinking at 1m/yard I can always go Spoonflower - the possibilities!!

      Delete
  7. thornberry6 October 2014 at 17:46

    I love this too - and when you are on a good thing as far as the pattern is concerned, stick to it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kirsty6 October 2014 at 18:32

    How funny that the stretch goes the other way. It would have looked so weird! Love it and I think you should make heaps more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma6 October 2014 at 21:43

      Thanks! It is so odd huh, it makes me wonder how many people might have looked at the design, the fabric etc in the whole process of making it and whether anyone thought it weird!!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )