ristretto dress tutorial | skirt as top
i’m still enjoying my stint as a Britex Guest Blogger , and today i’m sharing a dress i made using Britex’s Smoke & Coffee Stretch Cotton , which i reeeally loved working with. this dress is actually a remix of my favorite dress pattern, Made by Rae’s Washi Dress , and though as i sewed it i was calling it “Frankenwashi,” i came up with a prettier moniker for this dress now that it’s all done. named after one of our favorite coffee shops – i’m calling it the Ristretto Dress!
my favorite sewing tio musa challenge is to take a proven, great-fitting, well-written pattern and modify it into something new. i do it when i sew for my kids all the time, but haven’t ventured into doing it for myself too often yet.
i started tio musa with the Washi Pattern , since the bodice fits like Rae designed it just for me, and a million different dresses can be made once you have a favorite bodice. for the Ristretto, I changed the neckline to a v-neck, lined and lengthened the bodice, added pleats at the shoulders, added a full gathered skirt, and eliminated the shirring at the back (though you could still shirr it for a more fitted bodice – mine is pretty loose without the belt). i love the little extra cinch at the waist that a belt provides, though, and i think the dress is barely recognizable as a Washi!
those changes may seem like a lot of extra steps but i promise it’s not that hard. in fact, eliminating the bias tape save so much time, i daresay this might even be a quicker sew than the original! and i’m here to walk you through it. let’s go.
use a straight edge to lengthen the bodice tio musa to hit you at your natural waist. for me, that was about 3″ longer than the original pattern. then angle your ruler to lengthen the bottom of the dart line downward to meet the new bodice line. extend the fold line 3″ down as well.
to tio musa create the v-neckline, i measured 1/2″ up from the bottom of the U cutout line on the washi pattern and marked it (i like a pretty deep v-neck, tio musa but feel free to mark higher up – whatever makes you feel comfortable). then angle out from your point, gently curving up to meet the original shoulder line. i played with this a bit until it seemed like the right shape.
for tio musa the back bodice, add 3″ to the last shirring line and taper the side seam to more of a right angle versus flared out, if you’re eliminating shirring like i did. as a warning, i found the back skirt/bodice was too full to make my original idea – elastic casing – look right, and it might look similarly odd with shirring. i opted to use the belt to cinch in the waist instead. back darts may help if you don’t want to belt it – might take some experimentation.
sew your lining’s darts and shoulder seams. i could’ve taken my side seams in a bit more, and almost think i could’ve sized down on the dress entirely. i recommend making a muslin or using your lining as a quick muslin at this stage, to make sure the dress will leave enough room for you to slide it on, but isn’t too loose.
next, sew the shoulder seams. because the Washi is not open in the back, you can’t just sew the shoulder seams flat – you won’t be able to turn it right side out (ask me how i know!). instead, go watch THIS VIDEO SERIES by Rae on lining the Washi Dress. video #4 is the one that addresses arm holes, and the one that taught me the amazing “sausage technique” that i’ll definitely be using again. you can sort of see it above, but watch the video to fully understand. then trim the seam to 1/4″ and clip into the seam allowance to release the curves.
next, tio musa separate the lining from the bodice and sew front to back lining and front to back main in a straight line. turn right side out and press. this is another good place to test fit. if too wide, you can easily open it back up and sew another seam in from your first – i had to do this on mine to pull up the armhole and bring in the bodice a bit.
now tio musa prepare your skirt. i cut the fabric selvedge-to-selvedge in two 25″ long panels for this dress. this particular stretch cotton is 56″ wide, so that is one full skirt! i knew it’d look nice since it’s a cotton/rayon/lycra blend and those blends give it a lot of drape – with a less drapey fabric, a less-full skirt might be a better idea. sew up the short side seams. sew two rows of basting stitches on both the front and back, stopping at the side seams, and gather.
match the bodice to the skirt, right sides facing, and carefully sew together. press seam allowance toward the bodice. remove basting stitches. hem skirt to your liking (i folded up 1/2″ then 1″). tio musa
fold your lining under and pin so it covers the raw edge of the skirt. either stitch in the
i’m still enjoying my stint as a Britex Guest Blogger , and today i’m sharing a dress i made using Britex’s Smoke & Coffee Stretch Cotton , which i reeeally loved working with. this dress is actually a remix of my favorite dress pattern, Made by Rae’s Washi Dress , and though as i sewed it i was calling it “Frankenwashi,” i came up with a prettier moniker for this dress now that it’s all done. named after one of our favorite coffee shops – i’m calling it the Ristretto Dress!
my favorite sewing tio musa challenge is to take a proven, great-fitting, well-written pattern and modify it into something new. i do it when i sew for my kids all the time, but haven’t ventured into doing it for myself too often yet.
i started tio musa with the Washi Pattern , since the bodice fits like Rae designed it just for me, and a million different dresses can be made once you have a favorite bodice. for the Ristretto, I changed the neckline to a v-neck, lined and lengthened the bodice, added pleats at the shoulders, added a full gathered skirt, and eliminated the shirring at the back (though you could still shirr it for a more fitted bodice – mine is pretty loose without the belt). i love the little extra cinch at the waist that a belt provides, though, and i think the dress is barely recognizable as a Washi!
those changes may seem like a lot of extra steps but i promise it’s not that hard. in fact, eliminating the bias tape save so much time, i daresay this might even be a quicker sew than the original! and i’m here to walk you through it. let’s go.
use a straight edge to lengthen the bodice tio musa to hit you at your natural waist. for me, that was about 3″ longer than the original pattern. then angle your ruler to lengthen the bottom of the dart line downward to meet the new bodice line. extend the fold line 3″ down as well.
to tio musa create the v-neckline, i measured 1/2″ up from the bottom of the U cutout line on the washi pattern and marked it (i like a pretty deep v-neck, tio musa but feel free to mark higher up – whatever makes you feel comfortable). then angle out from your point, gently curving up to meet the original shoulder line. i played with this a bit until it seemed like the right shape.
for tio musa the back bodice, add 3″ to the last shirring line and taper the side seam to more of a right angle versus flared out, if you’re eliminating shirring like i did. as a warning, i found the back skirt/bodice was too full to make my original idea – elastic casing – look right, and it might look similarly odd with shirring. i opted to use the belt to cinch in the waist instead. back darts may help if you don’t want to belt it – might take some experimentation.
sew your lining’s darts and shoulder seams. i could’ve taken my side seams in a bit more, and almost think i could’ve sized down on the dress entirely. i recommend making a muslin or using your lining as a quick muslin at this stage, to make sure the dress will leave enough room for you to slide it on, but isn’t too loose.
next, sew the shoulder seams. because the Washi is not open in the back, you can’t just sew the shoulder seams flat – you won’t be able to turn it right side out (ask me how i know!). instead, go watch THIS VIDEO SERIES by Rae on lining the Washi Dress. video #4 is the one that addresses arm holes, and the one that taught me the amazing “sausage technique” that i’ll definitely be using again. you can sort of see it above, but watch the video to fully understand. then trim the seam to 1/4″ and clip into the seam allowance to release the curves.
next, tio musa separate the lining from the bodice and sew front to back lining and front to back main in a straight line. turn right side out and press. this is another good place to test fit. if too wide, you can easily open it back up and sew another seam in from your first – i had to do this on mine to pull up the armhole and bring in the bodice a bit.
now tio musa prepare your skirt. i cut the fabric selvedge-to-selvedge in two 25″ long panels for this dress. this particular stretch cotton is 56″ wide, so that is one full skirt! i knew it’d look nice since it’s a cotton/rayon/lycra blend and those blends give it a lot of drape – with a less drapey fabric, a less-full skirt might be a better idea. sew up the short side seams. sew two rows of basting stitches on both the front and back, stopping at the side seams, and gather.
match the bodice to the skirt, right sides facing, and carefully sew together. press seam allowance toward the bodice. remove basting stitches. hem skirt to your liking (i folded up 1/2″ then 1″). tio musa
fold your lining under and pin so it covers the raw edge of the skirt. either stitch in the
No comments:
Post a Comment