More wrap dress action! Once I tested my Renfrew-to-wrap-dress pattern alteration with my first version, I spent my last day of the summer holiday very happily sewing up another dress.
This fabric was lovely to work with. It’s from my Cali Fabrics haul, and as I said in the video, it is a medium-weight rayon blend. It is totally opaque, drapey, spongy and resilient – all my favourite qualities in a knit! (Oh, and it’s still for sale!)
(Side note: Anyone else get really impatient waiting for fabric stores to get new stock? I’d happily order from Wanderlust or Cali again, but they don’t have anything new that I want! Oh, the trials of fabric addiction…)
Pattern wise, this is exactly the same as the previous dress – surplice bodice, Comino skirt, finished with folded bands and a wide elastic waist stay (which I’m trying to show by hooking my fingers under it in the lower right pic, above. As I often do, the skirt is unhemmed. One day I’ll get a coverstitch and then I’ll hem everything!
(Wind tunnel effect! Tyra would be so proud.)
Looking at the pictures, things seems a bit washed out and undefined… like I’m in desperate need of a belt! I don’t feel that way when I’m wearing it though… how does that happen? And is my eye right, or the camera? (I don’t love wearing belts with knit dresses – feels fussy to me!)
Do you reconsider styling when you see your makes in photographs? Or do you dress for the mirror instead? I tend to be a creature of habit, and always reach for one of two of the same necklaces that I’ve decided match something, and wear it the same way every time.
Crafting A Rainbow 
I really like this! And I don’t think it looks washed out or undefined at all. Although isn’t it funny how different things look in photos than how they seem in the mirror in real life? I tend to dress for real life and how things make me feel, but often when I see myself in pictures it doesn’t match at all the picture of myself I get from the mirror. I’m slowly trying to get it so that doesn’t bother me…! Anyway, this dress is lovely, I think I’m going to persevere with my mock-wrap experiments too!
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Oh, I also meant to ask how you attach the elastic for your waist stays in your knit dresses. Do you sew it to the seam allowance or topstitch it? Thank you!
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I’ve got a Lazy Tips for Sewing Knits post up tomorrow that will hopefully be helpful for you! I just serged the elastic in when I sewed the bodice to the skirt, but you could be more precise about it if you wanted. 🙂
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Brilliant, thanks!
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ah, the number of unhemmed dresses we all have waiting for a coverstitch…
i don’t think you need a belt, it’s so vibrant & you look beautiful! like cher, i think pics are a little more reliable than a mirror…but, since we put multiple pics up in our posts, staring at those images probably makes us dissect the garment too much. like a painter standing too close to the painting.
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Thanks, lovely! I”m dreaming of a coverstitch too, but my boring brain is telling me to pay off car #1 and impending car #2 first! (But I just want to seeeeeeeew!)
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OK – I love this one. I can see how the waist is higher here and I think it works really well. This fabric obvs has better recovery and it clings really nicely. I routinely leave my knit dresses unhemmed. I actually really like the look. I find it edgy. (Which is code for: not at all lazy). BTW, you’re looking rather vibrant, so I can only imagine how colourful this dress is in real life if you think the pics look washed out. Oh, and are you wearing a new bra, perchance? The boobs are looking good 🙂
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The green is kinda lost in these pics… in real life it’s actually a slightly apple green with petrol blue and navy, which is (for me) actually a rather subdued and lovely combo! And yes, there are some excellent foundation garments in effect! 🙂
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I love this dress! Very you and very pretty! I don’t think you need a belt unless you trade the necklace for a belt for a different look.
Staring at photos too long will definitely change how an outfit looks to you. And the camera does see things differently than the eye – wrinkles can be completely different on camera and lighting can also affect what the camera sees (when working on set, I’ve had to look at a monitor and memorize what needs to be adjusted because I won’t see it when I am standing in front of the actor to fix it). I think you just need to learn to use both your eye and the camera views to get a good overall view of the dress. It is also helpful to stand across the room from a mirror to view yourself because most people will be viewing you from a distance in real life. Blurring/squinting your eyes also helps you understand overall impression of an outfit.
The reason I love this dress fabric is it’s a nice visual texture when you squint at it and it doesn’t completely merge into a solid color. But it’s not so high-contrast of a print that it doesn’t blend nicely.
Perhaps it is the soft lighting in the photos that is making you see it as less vibrant? I have a feeling the lime in it is a little brighter in real life. Or maybe the print just seems to have more contrast when viewed up close.
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Thanks Brooke! Standing away from the mirror is a great suggestion – I’ll give that a try! 🙂
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i got a coverstitch a few months back… you’ll never regret investing in one! especially with all the knits you sew. they’re a little weird to get used to, but man oh man do they make hemming a breeze. and i love this dress! i don’t think it needs a belt at all, looks great as is!
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Oh man, I’m tempted! In a few years, for sure. Can’t quite afford a coverstitch yet!
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This looks great on you! I really like the colors on you. I tend to style things the same way every time, although sometimes I see photos of a finished garment and think, “ooooooooops!” I’m not much of a stylist/accessorizer so I rarely even remember to put on a necklace!
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I”m not much for accessories either! Well, I always wear one, and usually a necklace… but I rarely layer one more than one accessory at a time. Even shoes don’t really register to me until I’m walking out the door. After Lizzy’s post recently about using accessories I tried to play a bit more, but it just doesn’t feel like me! 🙂
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Looks terrific!
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Thanks Sarah! BTW, did you get my belated email a week ago about picking up fabric from my brother-in-law in Hamilton?
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This one looks great on you! By the way, I noticed you wrapped the left side over the right side, which is “correct” in Japan, but opposite in America (and I think Canada).
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You have a good eye for details! I didn’t even think about what side to cross over… ironic that I got it “right” for Japan after years of trying to figure out what way to wear my yukata at hotels to not look ridiculous to everyone! 😉
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I think it looks great, and I don’t think it needs a belt at all. It looks very flattering (and comfy) as is! I totally get the fabric addiction thing too – I’ve been patiently waiting for something fabulous to catch my eye at Wanderlust too – but do I really need more fabric?
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We always need more fabric! I think it goes with sewing knits – it’s easy to tear through yardage in no time!
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You look ready for back to school in this dress, for sure! And the wrap fits you very nicely. I admire them from afar, but I eliminated my one wrap dress from my closet last year for lack of wear. But I don’t think you’ll have that problem at all – great make!
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Thanks Chloe! I can picture you in an olive green linen shirt dress with tie belt, for some reason, but a wrap dress doesn’t seem so much your style! Thank goodness we can all sew and wear whatever we like! : )
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Again I love this wrap dress look on you! How the heck do you make these things so quickly?!! I am working on mine…slowly… I have been known to restyle a garment after seeing a pic then retake the pictures. I can usually tell in the mirror if something works though.
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Thank you! I’m posting some tips for making similar dresses tomorrow, so maybe you’ll find something useful there for your own dress? Good luck!
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I love the cooler colors for fall and winter, and think this dress is smashing! Great work!
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Thank you! I think this kind of dress would look equally good on you!
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I should honestly just copy your wardrobe. 🙂
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Only if I get to copy yours! Your hot pink and grey Bronte is awesome!
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Lovely dress. I don’t think it needs a belt at all. Maybe a black necklace instead of the green?
I often see things in photos I wouldn’t have noticed in the mirror so it’s not just you!
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Thanks! Whenever I get too critical of pictures, I just remind myself that most people who see me in a day are either far away or 1/2m form my face, and they aren’t noticing those details anyway! 🙂
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Your dress is beautiful. This style looks great on you. The fabric is a good combination of colors.
After I read your description of the fabric, I opened another page to check out the Cali fabrics website. I have never heard of this store.
Your review is one time because I recently ordered Christine Jonson’s wrap dress pattern.
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I’ve been really happy with what I ordered from Cali Fabrics – all four pieces are sewn up now, which is a good sign! The Christine Johnson pattern looks great – are you joining the curvy collective sewalong?
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This looks great! I love the colour, so bright and vibrant! These wrap dresses really suit you.
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Very pretty! (I’m catching up!) I love the wrap bodice. You’ve got knit dresses down! I’ve never shopped at Cali Fabrics so I’ll have to check them out. That’s sounds like my favorite kind of knit, too.
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