When I want to sew but I’m not sure what to make, I tend to make ITY dresses and jackety layering pieces. They are wearable all year round and fast and fun to make!
Remember when I made this boring-back Burda for Sew Twists and Ties? Well, I’ve been curious ever since to try it with the twisted part in both front and back, so here we are!
I used the exactly same front pieces for the back as well. I think it works just fine! I will say that front the side the twists add visual width hides the small of my back, so it’s hourglassy from the front and back but not the side. This one doesn’t feel as va-va-voom as my first version, but I do think it’s a perfectly nice work dress which will probably end up with my sister at some point!
Along with it, I’ve been wearing this quilted knit coatigan, made with fabric from Meg from Cookin’ and Craftin’! Meg gave me the fabric from her stash when I saw her in Ottawa this fall, and I wanted to make it into something I’d wear a lot. ! I still get lots of wear from this hot pink quilted coatigan I made in 2015, so I knew it was the perfect use for this fabric.
Sometimes grey washes me out, so I added a navy and white trim for a pop! I also used navy and white stripe ponte for the facings, which is the kind of extra detail that makes me happy. I wish I’d cut the neckline a bit higher, but other than that it’s a very useful light jacket/sweater for spring!
Next dress!
This is made from 1.5m of border print, which I sewed into a tube by attaching the two selvedges together. The bodice is my TNT Santa Fe tank, and the skirt is a straight tube. I thought it would look graphic and fun to off-set the vertical border print at the front, so it would look like Islamic tiles geometric tiles. I’m not sure it worked though – it’s not as cute and bold as I hoped! Should i take off the skirt and reattach it with the vertical strip running seamlessly up and down on one side? Is it the tube skirt that is letting me down? Help!
I do love the colours though! It was a bargain end at Fabricland last summer, and it’s all my favourite colours in one!
My parents, sister and I are going on a trip to Spain this summer to a family wedding, and you know as soon as plans were made I started thinking about clothing! I bought this GORGEOUS Telio linen/rayon blend locally at Len’s Mills – I’d also seen a bunch of bloggers sew it up from Fabric.com. It is really nice! I used a bit of lace from my lingerie stash to add some texture to the neckline.
For travel, I wanted something that would give me sun protection on my shoulders but still be comfortable in 40c heat. In my head at least, it will “go” with pretty much everything in my closet. We’ll see!
Can we just talk about how excited I am to start wearing dresses with bare legs? (TMI: I’ve been working on shaving off my winter pelt! I did consider rocking hairy legs this year like I did in Uni, but ultimately I enjoy the feeling of a shaved leg, so I’m going for it!) Before Me-Made May starts, I need to go through my wardrobe and dig out summer stuff and put away the winter!
Happy spring (or autumn)!
Crafting A Rainbow 
OMG. I just adore your blue and gray dress with the twists. It is so nice, and I love the way you styled it with the tights and boots. What a great look. I have that same fabric that you made your gray coatigan out of. I made a sweatshirt, but I love your idea to make a coatigan and to add trim. Great job.
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Hey Gillian! I really like the print positioning on the second dress – I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s got lots of visual impact. Looking forward to seeing your MMM adventures!
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Ok, thank you! I”m hoping that once I start wearing that dress with sandals and bare legs, I’ll like it better!
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I’m really into both of your jackets! The first coatigan with the ribbon – I thought those were reversed Hong Kong seams – I am REALLY in love with the effect. Very clever.
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Ahahahaha reverse hong kong seams! It’ll be a cold day in hell when i do that! Now that I know how much impact that little bit of trim has though, I’m curious to play around some more – maybe some tuxedo stripes on pants?
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Love the jackets! The extra details are so fantastic. And using the front as the back of the twist dress is such a cool idea!
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Thanks for getting my hooked on burda!
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That’s what I tend to do… 😅
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I really like the pattern placement on the second dress- I wouldn’t change it! What kind of fabric is ITY? Does it have stretch?
I’m currently working on my first Santa Fe top and I think it’s a brilliant idea to hack it into a dress 😀
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Ooh, enjoy your Santa Fe! I’ve made it into everything from maxi dress to knee length to tunic to endless tanks. The free Durango tank form hey june is also excellent!
You are right, mine is ITY – it’s a good match with the pattern, I find!
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I freakin’ love that dress (specifically the top one – though the green one is also lovely). And the topper is terrific. What a chic outfit!!
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The twist dress style would suit you so well! It’s like fancy secret pyjamas! The neckline plunges to the waist as drafted, and I sewed it up a bit too far on this version… but it’s got lots of sexy potential!
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I absolutely love the idea of twists on both the front and the back….and the green dress is cute too. Great topper…
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Isn’t it nice to be able to use a TNT in different ways? Sewing is the best!
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Love the blue topper. What pattern is it?
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I really like the way you offset the pattern on the green dress. It looks fantastic on screen!
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Love your dresses and the toppers are superb!! What pattern did you use for the blue topper. I love it!
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I love the dark blue dress. You’re doing a good job. Keep up the good work.
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