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For my Fall sewing this year, I decided to make a simple dress from this Satin Dimara Multicolour print. I really liked the visual mix in this print, especially since it includes some checkerboard in there, one of my favourites.

Because this fabric is so busy and also quite slippery to handle, I chose to use the Jalie Bianca, a pattern I’ve made before and really like. This time I altered it to have even fewer seams – I cut the front and back pieces on a fold so there are really only side seams to worry about. I made the view with sleeve cuffs, and also added in some side seam pockets. The Bianca was a great pick because it limited the possibilities of mismatches or stretching across seams.

I also cut it to give more width in the hem, by simply sliding the skirt part of the pattern in from the fold about an inch, and extending that a-line shape a bit. I added 3 extra inches to the length in case I had to trim at the end, which I did, so I was thankful for the excess. The dress was left hang overnight so that the hem would settle, and I had to even it up with quite a bit of trimming!

I found that cutting this out was the hardest part – the fabric is slippery and light, and I had to be very careful. I also had to use a new and small sharp needle to make sure I didn’t snag the fabric when working with it. You could probably also use a universal or microtex needle effectively with this fabric.

I had also planned to wear this dress with a corduroy jacket, made from  Vogue 2053. I pictured it in this lovely cream corduroy which was a beautiful cotton fabric to work with. Unfortunately for me, this boxy jacket was more complicated than it appeared at first glance. It has paneled front and sides, full length sleeves with a working vent, and is fully lined.

One thing I decided at the beginning was that I didn’t want to use the corduroy for the facings. I felt that would be too bulky, and it could also cause the jacket to stick to the clothing underneath if it was at all grippy. So I used a pale linen in my upcycle pile – it was originally a pair of summer pants and was perfect for the facings! I used an ‘oyster’ lining for the rest of the lining, and found some very cool brass buttons too. 

I really like the pattern although it challenged my brain – there were some tricky bits in the lining process in particular. I did learn a lot making this, and the corduroy is really nice. Sadly I just didn’t get the sizing right on this, it’s too big for me. But I wanted to share that sometimes when you are trying something new, like a type of garment you haven’t made before, things don’t always go perfectly. I like this pattern and would use it again with some adaptations for my tastes (mainly leaving off the working vent on the sleeve which was really hard and also not needed to use the sleeve) and of course hopefully getting the sizing right on a second try. And it certainly gave me a chance to learn a lot of new construction processes!

Even though I’ve been sewing for a long time, there are always things that don’t go the way you expect. But I’d encourage everyone to be willing to try new and challenging projects and see where they take you anyway. There is always something to learn.