I knew this Tencel Jersey Knit was going to be a dress but I wasn't sure what pattern I would sew. The fabric has some body but is light enough to lend itself to gathers. This made me think that I would sew a knit with a tiered skirt. While perusing the internet for inspirations, I was coming across quite a few wrap dresses. In my opinion, wrap dresses are timeless and I knew this fabric would be perfect for this particular style.

Before going on about the dress I want to talk about the fabric. This fabric has 80% stretch on the width and 10% on the length. It has great recovery. I washed the fabric in the washing machine and hung it to dry prior to cutting out my dress. I had no plans to put the dress in the dryer so I didn't put the uncut fabric in the dryer. The fabric washed and dried very well. I used a size 75 Stretch needle. The fabric was easy to sew. Another benefit to this fabric is that it travels very well as it does not wrinkle. The fabric is part of Minerva's Print on Demand (POD) collection. Delivery is a little longer for these fabrics but it's been my experience that they are worth the wait.

I've mentioned before that Vogue 8379 is my go-to wrap dress pattern. This is the 6th version of this pattern that I've made. I've tried quite a few wrap dresses in the past and always come back to Vogue 8379. There's a reason it's been in print for MANY years. There are some beautiful versions of this dress made by other Minerva Brand Ambassadors. I made a few changes to the pattern. The first one is standard for me. I added one inch to the bodice length. I'm 5'7" and I usually add anywhere between a 1/2 inch to one inch to the bodices of dresses. The other change I made was to shorten the sleeves. I did this by removing the cuffs and shortening the sleeve pattern piece by 1 inch and sewing a 3/4" hem. The last change I made is one I've made every time I've sewn this pattern. I cut the skirt back of the dress on the fold. The pattern calls for a center seam which I don't find necessary unless your fabric isn't quite wide enough to cut the pattern piece on the fold. When cutting the skirt back on the fold you must remember to remove the 5/8" seam allowance when placing your pattern on the fabric.

This beautiful fabric combined with Vogue 8379 came together to create a wrap dress that I know I will enjoy wearing over the years.

Happy Sewing!

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