Minerva Exclusive Pastoral Splendour Organic Cotton Sateen Fabric
Minerva with McCalls Darwen Dress
Friends, look at my cute new dress! I will be totally honest and say that a dropped waist is a little style departure for me. The last time I recall wearing one was as a reluctant kid in the 80s. I was intrigued how the style kept popping up in the past several months, especially in dress form, so I finally caved into the allure and sewed one!
I really was convinced that it was going to play strangely with my proportions, but wearing this, I don’t feel that way at all. With all the ease built in, the lower bodice just swishes around my hips and the whole dress moves beautifully. I must say, I think I also nailed it with this medium-scale all-over floral pairing because this ended up very much like I’d imagined. (Listen, not everything does, so we must crow with delight when it happens!)
When a pattern is more fabric hungry than usual for me (say, over two yards) I do love a cut layout included in the tutorial because I can’t lay out the whole yardage easily to check on my own. Super helpful to have this layout in multiple fabric width options for the size ranges.
This is a relatively easy sew, barring the time it takes to arrange all the gathering to your liking. Cotton sateen is a joy to sew with, so I had a nice time listening to a podcast and getting a little fiddly with preparing all my wee folds evenly. Sateen also makes sensational bias tape for binding, so I made enough for the neckline here and some extra for future bonus projects.
I removed ½” from the bodice at the shorten line because I’m 5’4”/163cm. This makes the hip seam land right at my hip bone height. I think that little adjustment really works well, so I’d say it’s worth paying attention to the proportion of your bodice length.
Also, when I sewed my quick toile to check for fit I only added the first tier, and that was the cutest, most summery dress! I might have to go back and sew a real one when the weather heats up.
Happy sewing!
Katie
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