Pattern: Simplicity 8910
The Fabric: Minerva Exclusive Daydream Dwelling Olive Rice Stripe Dobby POD Fabric Spring
Hi Minervans 👋
So happy with my latest ambassador make and just in time for this amazing weather we’re having in the UK!
The Pattern: I previously made the long-sleeved version of this dress in Minerva Exclusive flannel, and it quickly became one of my most worn dresses throughout the cooler months. See here for write up https://www.minerva.com/post/263393
This time, I opted for the short sleeved version in a much lighter fabric, and I’m just as pleased with it! This short sleeved version feels like its breezy warm weather counterpart - just as lovely, but made for sunny days. The dress has some lovely details — the dropped back waist, the fitted bodice, the deep bound pockets and the softly pleated skirt. All those little touches give it a timeless, feminine feel without being too fussy.
The Fabric: This is one of Minerva’s new fabrics and I wasn’t sure what to expect! When it arrived I was so happy! A beautiful quality olive rice stripe dobby fabric made from 60% olive plant and 40% cotton. It features subtle raised stripes created through a special weaving technique resembling rice grains arranged in fine stripes. The fabric is naturally soft, breathable, gentle on the skin, light to medium weight (100 gsm). I washed it in the washing machine on a hand wash cycle and a cool air dry in my tumble dryer without any issues. A quick press and I was ready for sewing!
The Sewing Journey: As I’d made this pattern before, I was able to skip making a toile this time around – always a bonus!
I spent a while debating whether to pattern match, but in the end I decided against it. The repeat is quite large, and with this being such a fabric hungry pattern, I wasn’t convinced I’d have enough fabric to make it work. A bit of a cop out perhaps… but sometimes practicality has to win! 😉
The fabric is incredibly light and a little shifty, so I decided to cut everything out flat rather than on the fold. Thankfully, the woven stripes made it much easier to keep the grainline perfectly straight. The first piece I tackled was the back skirt, which is quite a large pattern piece to allow for the pleats. I carefully positioned it and started cutting the first half, ready to flip it over and cut the second. Then disaster struck… I’d accidentally cut along the fold line! Cue a moment of complete panic! I walked away from it for a couple of days to ponder my mistake and work out what to do next. After a bit of head scratching, I realised I could cut the two short sleeves from the ruined piece. Thankfully, that worked perfectly and saved the day – phew! Sometimes a sewing project just keeps you on your toes!
With that little crisis averted, I could finally get back on track! The rest of the cutting went much more smoothly (with me double-checking every line before picking up the scissors again!).
From there it was time to start sewing everything together, and thankfully this part was far less dramatic! I used a new Microtex 70 needle with a stitch length of 2.5, and it worked perfectly. I didn’t even need to use my walking foot. One word of warning if you’re sewing with this fabric: the raised stripes catch and pull quite easily, so it’s worth handling it with a little extra care as you sew.
When it came to the hem, I had a couple of attempts before I was happy with it. The pattern suggested a 1¼ inch hem allowance, but when I tried that, the dress just didn’t hang right. I think the hem was simply too heavy for such a floaty dress. My second attempt was a narrow hem, but it kept twisting as I was machining and was driving me mad! Then I remembered I had some Ban Rol tape in my stash that I’d never actually used, so I decided to give it a try. It made sewing the narrow hem so easy, and the finished hem is just perfect. I’ll definitely be using this method again - especially as the Ban Rol tape is reusable!
The outcome: I love absolutely everything about this dress! It’s so comfortable to wear, the fabric feels amazing, and I adore how swishy it is. I have a feeling this one is going to be on repeat all summer long!
As always, a huge thank you to Minerva for gifting me this fabric😍