5 years ago
I instantly fell in love with this embellished white linen viscose fabric. It looked so lovely and I envisioned a dress of some sort. I’d been noticing a few sewists with tiered dresses on my feed lately. Some knee length, midi length, full length; all just gorgeous and I knew I had to try my hand at tiers. The style reminds me of a denim tiered skirt I cherished when I was 12.
I had 3 meters to play with and used up almost all of it. First thing I noticed when I received my parcel was that it was HEAVY. Before even opening it, I thought there must have been two fabrics in there. The flowers and swirls are even nicer in real life and it has a nice soft feel. The listing reads linen/viscose, and it has the look of linen, with a very soft, luxurious texture.
I decided on using The Wide Strap Maxi Dress pattern by Elbe Textiles for the bodice. I love the wide straps with a straight neckline and have already made one so knew it would fit well. I had originally wanted spaghetti straps, but I knew thin straps would not hold the weight of the finished dress.
I had never made a tiered item before but was familiar with gathers. I asked a fellow sewist on Instagram, @whatteganmade how they created their tiers and she gave me a 1.5x formula. I calculated the circumference of the bodice waist, (114cm) then multiplied by 1.5 (171cm) for the length of my first tier, multiplied by 1.5 (256cm) for second tier, multiplied by 1.5 (384cm) for my third (bottom) tier.
I wanted my skirt to be 70cm in length. What you could do is divide 70cm by 3 tiers (+ seam allowances), but I wanted my third tier to be slightly smaller than the top 2. I ended up using a ratio of 1.5 : 1.5 : 1 (tier 1 : tier 2 : tier 3).
I don't know why, but I was so nervous before cutting this fabric. I think because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I am always a bit cautious but excited when making things without a pattern.
One thing I will add here, is that this fabric sheds a lot. Luckily my sewing sister, @sarah.eloise.sews recommended overlocking the fabric edges prior to washing. The embellishments are bias strips of the fabric, stitched on with invisible thread, so every slice with the rotary cutter left white pieces behind.
The flower and swirls repeat themselves but I did notice some sections were closer together than others. I cut my bodice in an area with a higher concentration of flowers for the ultimate boho look. I wouldn’t recommend ironing this fabric. When I pressed my straps, I found the embellishments flattened, which is not what you want.
After cutting all the pieces for the tiers, I realised I had over 8 meters in tiers to gather and sew together. I had a lightbulb moment when I remembered that there's a way to gather using an overlocker. This worked well for the tiers except for the third tier, which ended up being larger than the circumference of the second tier. A professional would have succumbed to the old-school baste and pull method, but out of laziness and the need to finish what I started within the day; I ended up with tiny pleats within my tier - not noticeable once the dress is on. Also, partly due to this laziness, and because I am loving a bit of fray in my life at the moment; I left the the third tier with the selvedge edge. There's a tiny row of green/maroon lines but I really like the look.
I haven’t worn this out due to our brissy heat but it’s taken the spot as my new favourite dress!!!
Happy Sewing!
@melt.stitches
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #sewing #sewist #sewists #sewinginspo #sewinginspiration #sew #sewcialist #sewingproject #sewingprojects #sewingideas #sewingprojectideas #sewingpatterninspo #lovesewing #ilovesewing #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #makersgonnamake #sewaholic #sewaholics #shareyoursewing #sewinglove #handmadewardrobe #handemadeclothes #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #fabricinspo #seamstress #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #imakemyownclothes #fashion #fashioninspo #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewingpatterns #elbetextilespatterns #elbetextileswidestrapmaxidress #widestrapmaxidress #sewingdresses #sewingsummerdresses #sewingwithlinen #linensewingprojects #summersewing
I had 3 meters to play with and used up almost all of it. First thing I noticed when I received my parcel was that it was HEAVY. Before even opening it, I thought there must have been two fabrics in there. The flowers and swirls are even nicer in real life and it has a nice soft feel. The listing reads linen/viscose, and it has the look of linen, with a very soft, luxurious texture.
I decided on using The Wide Strap Maxi Dress pattern by Elbe Textiles for the bodice. I love the wide straps with a straight neckline and have already made one so knew it would fit well. I had originally wanted spaghetti straps, but I knew thin straps would not hold the weight of the finished dress.
I had never made a tiered item before but was familiar with gathers. I asked a fellow sewist on Instagram, @whatteganmade how they created their tiers and she gave me a 1.5x formula. I calculated the circumference of the bodice waist, (114cm) then multiplied by 1.5 (171cm) for the length of my first tier, multiplied by 1.5 (256cm) for second tier, multiplied by 1.5 (384cm) for my third (bottom) tier.
I wanted my skirt to be 70cm in length. What you could do is divide 70cm by 3 tiers (+ seam allowances), but I wanted my third tier to be slightly smaller than the top 2. I ended up using a ratio of 1.5 : 1.5 : 1 (tier 1 : tier 2 : tier 3).
I don't know why, but I was so nervous before cutting this fabric. I think because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I am always a bit cautious but excited when making things without a pattern.
One thing I will add here, is that this fabric sheds a lot. Luckily my sewing sister, @sarah.eloise.sews recommended overlocking the fabric edges prior to washing. The embellishments are bias strips of the fabric, stitched on with invisible thread, so every slice with the rotary cutter left white pieces behind.
The flower and swirls repeat themselves but I did notice some sections were closer together than others. I cut my bodice in an area with a higher concentration of flowers for the ultimate boho look. I wouldn’t recommend ironing this fabric. When I pressed my straps, I found the embellishments flattened, which is not what you want.
After cutting all the pieces for the tiers, I realised I had over 8 meters in tiers to gather and sew together. I had a lightbulb moment when I remembered that there's a way to gather using an overlocker. This worked well for the tiers except for the third tier, which ended up being larger than the circumference of the second tier. A professional would have succumbed to the old-school baste and pull method, but out of laziness and the need to finish what I started within the day; I ended up with tiny pleats within my tier - not noticeable once the dress is on. Also, partly due to this laziness, and because I am loving a bit of fray in my life at the moment; I left the the third tier with the selvedge edge. There's a tiny row of green/maroon lines but I really like the look.
I haven’t worn this out due to our brissy heat but it’s taken the spot as my new favourite dress!!!
Happy Sewing!
@melt.stitches
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #sewing #sewist #sewists #sewinginspo #sewinginspiration #sew #sewcialist #sewingproject #sewingprojects #sewingideas #sewingprojectideas #sewingpatterninspo #lovesewing #ilovesewing #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #makersgonnamake #sewaholic #sewaholics #shareyoursewing #sewinglove #handmadewardrobe #handemadeclothes #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #fabricinspo #seamstress #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #imakemyownclothes #fashion #fashioninspo #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewingpatterns #elbetextilespatterns #elbetextileswidestrapmaxidress #widestrapmaxidress #sewingdresses #sewingsummerdresses #sewingwithlinen #linensewingprojects #summersewing