For years I’ve avidly read about the Tessuti sewing competition and always wanted to enter.. this year I finally got myself organised into ordering some of the fabric in a timely fashion! Buying fabric online is always a leeetle bit scary but I trust fabric stores I’ve visited for real, and Tessuti’s is one of Australia’s best. This year the fabric is this rather lovely ivory/blue cotton/linen/viscose/1%elastane plaid. It’s satisfactorily thick and crisp, with a good hand, so the skirt of my dress sits out nicely in a softly stiff way, if that makes sense. The rules for the competition are kinda open, kinda restrictive… open, in that you can make whatever the heck you want… the sky’s the limit! Restrictive, in that all visible parts of the garment must be made entirely using of the competition fabric… no trims, no dyeing, no embellishments like beading, smocking or embroidery, no contrasting fabrics. Hmmm, a nice challenge!! *rubs hands together with glee*
I had some very grand ideas to start with, but after lots of mulling it over decided to just make something I wanted to wear, you know? and what I love to wear more than anything else is an interesting little frock. So that’s what I made! A lengthy but enjoyable perusal of my pattern stash followed, and I plucked out Simplicity 3745, a pattern I’ve used twice before, version one here and version two here; so I know how it works for me!
Sooo: how to use the fabric creatively to add some visual interest to the garment??
Obviously, being a plaid one could play with on-grain vs bias cutting… I made a little mud map of the areas of my pattern, they numbered six, divided them into three each of bias and straight-cut sections, with the straight cut being the predominant look and treating bias-cut sections like a sort of “contrast”, of sorts; and I arranged my 3 bias-cut areas and 3 on-grain-cut areas so as to alternate. Plaid orientation proved a little tricker than first anticipated when I realised the ivory “square” wasn’t a square at all, but measures 2cm x 1.75cm. Meaning I had to choose between “true” bias-cut, which would have been a little off-kilter as far as the appearance of the plaid goes… or slightly off bias, and having the folds/seams going neatly through each of those little white centre points at each junction. I chose slightly off-bias, and having the plaid-matching arrangements looking sharp.
As another point of visual interest to my dress; I turned to my tried and true method (my tutorial for “framing” in a pieced garment with an inset strip is here) of inserting an inset strip to define the design and seam lines of the garment. I cut strips from the fabric, and sewed them in so the bluest, most solid-in-colour part of the plaid design made the dividing line. Ususally I would cut my inset strips on the bias, in this case of course to get a nice solid-ish blue line they had to be cut on-grain.
I was a little worried it wouldn’t work out, that they would pucker and not lie flat and smooth around the curved seamlines, but fortunately the on-grain strips went in perfectly nicely! Must be thanks to that little bit of elastane…! I used this inset strip technique to outline the neckline band, the two sleeve bands, the bodice band, and also the upper edge of the lower edge band.
As another way to add a little bit of visual punch: I sewed strips of the fluffy-edged selvedge along the lower hemline of the dress. I’d experimented with cutting bias strips and shredding them a bit to get a bit of a fringe… something I’d seen on the hemline of a white linen dress made by Tessuti’s once upon a time. However the skylines fabric is so densely woven that it just wouldn’t fringe up at all! Then I noticed the selvedge… aha!!! It had that perfectly fluffy little fringe all along each edge already! I cut strips of the selvedge, including a blue line of the plaid, and stitched this to the bottom edge of the dress. Initially I had thought to use this finish on the edge of the sleeve bands as well, but it was visually a little bit too busy and I ended up removing the selvedge off the sleeves. I do like how it looks along the bottom edge though!
Closure: I used a 46cm, ivory invisible zip. and yep! busted a gut getting this thing sewn in as invisibly as possible!!
This degree of pattern-matching took extremely careful pinning and slow sewing, and just one or two unpicking sessions when some bits weren’t as perfectly lined up as I wanted. I’m super happy with how it turned out in the end though!
Oh! pockets! of course I added inseam pockets. well, obviously, that’s practically a given, if I can possibly wrangle it – in anything – then I do!
Innards; I overlocked all raw edges using ivory thread in my overlocker… and look, tessuti’s sent out one of their labels for us to put in our garments… #feelssoprofessional!!!
Les Innards…
NOT les innards…
So that’s it! done and dust-eeeerd!! I love wearing this thing! It feels so feminine and… girly, is the only word I can think. Girly, in a good way, I mean. Hehe, I asked my husband’s opinion…he replied, “Swiss milk maid” ummm… okaaaay? Would not have come up with that on my own, but I’ll take it!
Details:
Dress; Simplicity 3745, in a cotton/linen/viscose plaid
Shoes; akiel, found in an op shop many years ago
That’s lovely, and such a good use of the plaid lines. I love how you used the darker parts as a sort of piping, and that’s a fun use of the selvedge! Good luck with the contest!
thanks Becky! xx
What a great dress with lots of interest. You did a fabulous job of mixing and matching
Marcia
thank you so much Marcia! 🙂
What a beautiful dress. I love the fabric and how you used it!
thank you Shirley!
What a perfect matching job you did. I love all the details of this dress.
thank you very much 🙂
This dress is gorgeous and so well done. On one hand you have masterfully matched and worked the plaid but then went outside the box so to speak with the “piping” and “trim”. Really exceptional work.
thank you so much Jean! 🙂
I love, love, love your dress. I never would have thought to “outline” some of the seams the way you did with the straight-grain mostly blue strips. You did a terrific job with your matching and your creativity.
thank you Jeanette! 🙂
The outlining really lifts your dress to another level, and of course, I love the selvedge!
thank you Sue! xx
LOVE!!! You always lift a competition to a higher level with your participation, as this gorgeous, well-made dress clearly shows. Thank you for showing us all the construction details and linking to your tutorial posts. This dress is utterly lovely and can see why you enjoy wearing it. Good Luck!
aw, thank you so much Lisa! that’s so lovely of you to say xxx 🙂
You continue to amaze me and to impress me! Good luck with the contest!
thank you so much Marie! 🙂
great job! wonderfully executed! I need to learn to sketch.
I have been working with knits lately, they were a new playing field for me. I will be getting back to wovens next month
thank you Kimberly! hehe, I’m hopeless at sketching too! I have a fashionary with figures already drawn in for you, which makes it a whole lot easier 🙂
The inset outlines make the design sing! Although it also took artful plaid-matching to make it look so expensive. Tessuti threw down a worthy challenge with that fabric.
I’m also struck by how Different fabrics + Same pattern = Three Drastically Different Dresses. Thank you for reminding us.
I could see this working into several different looks. Girly, obviously, and fresh as a cool glass of milk. Would work nicely with one of your knitted cropped cardigans. Or, casual/western, under a denim jacket with booties. I’ll look for this in your annual roundup of outfits.
PS, I also enjoyed the footwear in the vintage photos. It so happens I’ve been on an urgent hunt for a pair of black mid-heels, without being able describe what I want – just don’t want boring – and then I saw yours. Ding ding ding, we have a winner!
thank you so much sankati! for those kind words and for your amazing suggestions too I have to say your comments are always so wonderful to read, and give me and everyone so many ideas for styling my things! You really should start a styling blog! xx
Your dress looks wonderful – great use of that fabric!
thank you so much Virginie! xx
This dress is a breath of fresh air and looks so pretty and breezy and gorgeous. Just lovely!
thank you Megan! xx
I am so impressed with your accuracy plaid matching and the inserted strips! It’s a work of art. Good luck in the competition x
thank you so much Philippa! so many beautiful entries though, I’m afraid I don’t have a hope!
This is awesome and I learned so much just from reading this post!! I’m so glad Bloglovin’ highlighted you … I have a new fabulous blog to follow!
thank you very much, that’s so kind of you to say! 🙂
Oooooh….the Tessuti competition! Wishing you the best of luck…not that you need luck, this dress is all about mad sewing skillz! It’s challenging enough matching plaid on the straight of grain, but you’ve taken things to a different level entirely with bias cuts and piping! And that selvage hem is pretty brilliant too!
Love the name of your dress too!
When I first saw the fabric for the competition I thought – boring! But I was wrong. Well it could have been boring in the wrong hands. But not you – fabulous!!
Extreme plaid matching should be an Olympic sport. Great job! I also love your photos with the bridge skyline setting for your skyline plaid!
Gorgeous dress and the way you have used the plaid is perfect. Fingers crossed for the competition.
Magnificent use of plaid to show the design details in this dress – and fabulous finish (there aren’t many sewers who would be happy to display the innards of their makes).
I hope you do well in the competition. You certainly deserve to.
So beautiful as always Caroline! Sometimes the most creative enterprises happen when we have restrictions. I think your dress is fresh, summery (heading north again in a couple of months maybe? 🙂 ) and I’ll be surprised if you don’t win!
I just discovered you today and am so delighted and refreshed and inspired by this post. Thank you.