Ta-da! A dress is complete!
This is the Muna & Broad Waikerie dress pattern, available as a pdf download from their website. Minerva gifted me this absolutely gorgeous marble effect cotton poplin (in shade Darkest Blue) for this project and review, and I’m here to say I loved it!
I knew when the fabric arrived I wanted to make something to show off the nice amount of body it’s got - it’s not stiff by any means, but it’s not a super-soft and drapey kind of fabric. I feel like it’s one that will soften with repeated wash and wear in the way that high quality textiles often do, but as yet it’s still delightfully crisp. It irons like a dream, too, holding exactly where I put it rather than trying to wander off! I’m tempted to acquire more colour varieties as we move into summer - I really like the subtle tonal marble effect, it’s not so much of a print or pattern to be frightening, as someone who doesn’t often wear bold styles, but it adds visual interest in a more understated way.
The pattern comes together nicely too, with Muna & Broad specialising in designing for larger bodies. I’ll freely admit I wasn’t entirely convinced about this make once I’d finished it, because I’m far more used to wearing things that accentuate the waist and make me feel hourglassy rather than this looser fit silhouette. Having worn it a bit more now, though, I feel really swishy and summery in it and can’t wait until we can go sit in a pub garden in the sunshine whilst I wear this dress with some cute sandals and sunglasses. The enclosed back yoke is done with the burrito method and they come out so wonderfully neat. I didn’t necessarily see the advantage of using their unique arm band application over doing it in the flat, but I did follow their instructions for this one and I do like how I turned out overall.
I’ve also got a half-formed thought about being free to wear silhouettes which aren’t traditionally deemed ‘flattering’ on a larger body. We are taught not to take up too much space, to diminish ourselves and try to be as small as we can. One of the design duo at Muna & Broad (Jess) has an Instagram hashtag for #FatRebel and this outfit makes me think of participating in that too. There’s no illusion of a small waist to make myself ‘seem’ different than I am. Just a big swishy dress made exactly for who I am at the moment.
Rainbow buttons add a little splash of extra colour (and the underside of my collar is also red, partly for fun and partly because I mistakenly only cut one collar piece when I was laying out my pattern and then didn’t have enough to make another!) and also make me feel ready for warmer days. They might be something I need to add to every make! A jazzy button can make all the difference - and when I posted my sneak peek, they were what people loved!
All in all I’m delighted with this dress now I’ve had time to reflect on the new-to-me shape, and the fabric is incredible. It handles so nicely and behaves so perfectly under the machine, and I can see it being used for all manner of garments and homewares. There are several shades of green I’ve got my eye on for the future, I can tell you that for sure. A rainbow of lovely poplins, there’s the dream!
#MinervaBrandAmbassador #MinervaMakers #MinervaMakes #CottonPoplin #Poplin #MunaAndBroad #WaikerieDress #PlusSizeSewing #DressMaking #FatSewing #Rainbow #MarbleEffect #Buttons
This is the Muna & Broad Waikerie dress pattern, available as a pdf download from their website. Minerva gifted me this absolutely gorgeous marble effect cotton poplin (in shade Darkest Blue) for this project and review, and I’m here to say I loved it!
I knew when the fabric arrived I wanted to make something to show off the nice amount of body it’s got - it’s not stiff by any means, but it’s not a super-soft and drapey kind of fabric. I feel like it’s one that will soften with repeated wash and wear in the way that high quality textiles often do, but as yet it’s still delightfully crisp. It irons like a dream, too, holding exactly where I put it rather than trying to wander off! I’m tempted to acquire more colour varieties as we move into summer - I really like the subtle tonal marble effect, it’s not so much of a print or pattern to be frightening, as someone who doesn’t often wear bold styles, but it adds visual interest in a more understated way.
The pattern comes together nicely too, with Muna & Broad specialising in designing for larger bodies. I’ll freely admit I wasn’t entirely convinced about this make once I’d finished it, because I’m far more used to wearing things that accentuate the waist and make me feel hourglassy rather than this looser fit silhouette. Having worn it a bit more now, though, I feel really swishy and summery in it and can’t wait until we can go sit in a pub garden in the sunshine whilst I wear this dress with some cute sandals and sunglasses. The enclosed back yoke is done with the burrito method and they come out so wonderfully neat. I didn’t necessarily see the advantage of using their unique arm band application over doing it in the flat, but I did follow their instructions for this one and I do like how I turned out overall.
I’ve also got a half-formed thought about being free to wear silhouettes which aren’t traditionally deemed ‘flattering’ on a larger body. We are taught not to take up too much space, to diminish ourselves and try to be as small as we can. One of the design duo at Muna & Broad (Jess) has an Instagram hashtag for #FatRebel and this outfit makes me think of participating in that too. There’s no illusion of a small waist to make myself ‘seem’ different than I am. Just a big swishy dress made exactly for who I am at the moment.
Rainbow buttons add a little splash of extra colour (and the underside of my collar is also red, partly for fun and partly because I mistakenly only cut one collar piece when I was laying out my pattern and then didn’t have enough to make another!) and also make me feel ready for warmer days. They might be something I need to add to every make! A jazzy button can make all the difference - and when I posted my sneak peek, they were what people loved!
All in all I’m delighted with this dress now I’ve had time to reflect on the new-to-me shape, and the fabric is incredible. It handles so nicely and behaves so perfectly under the machine, and I can see it being used for all manner of garments and homewares. There are several shades of green I’ve got my eye on for the future, I can tell you that for sure. A rainbow of lovely poplins, there’s the dream!
#MinervaBrandAmbassador #MinervaMakers #MinervaMakes #CottonPoplin #Poplin #MunaAndBroad #WaikerieDress #PlusSizeSewing #DressMaking #FatSewing #Rainbow #MarbleEffect #Buttons