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Autumn in San Francisco has so far been pretty different than back home in Oxford — for starters, it has been pretty consistently sunny and warm (even hitting 30°c last week!), which makes a pleasant change from the usual wall-to-wall grey skies in October that I am used to. Despite this, I still have a craving for making clothes that suit the change of the season, which my newest #MinervaMake certainly ticks this box — head over to Minerva to read up my blog post there or scroll down for more details and photos!
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First up, let’s talk about this gorgeous fabric that Minerva kindly sent me! It is a Viscose Modal designed by Atelier Brunette, in the “Tender Toffee” colourway. This fabric is Oeko-Tex certified and woven from Lenzing™️ EcoVero™️ certified fibres, meaning that sustainability is at the core of the production of this fabric. I love the all-over abstract print of shards of light toffee brown and deep mocha brown on the black background; it really does feel very autumnal, like a kaleidoscope of falling leaves. I made sure to pre-wash this fabric, as I am always cautious about any shrinkage with viscoses. I must admit, this was a pretty unusual viscose to sew with, as it has a very smooth hand and crisp drape. It was not at all like a flowy viscose challis… this viscose modal behaved itself during cutting out and was very stable to sew 😄
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Finding the right pattern for this fabric was a bit of a journey, truth be told. I toyed with several ideas, even cutting out a different bodice for a different pattern initially, before I landed on the Sew Over It Giselle Dress. The Giselle Dress is a semi-fitted sheath dress, with a panelled midi-length skirt with an optional knee-high split, short sleeves, and a round neckline. The back closes with an invisible zip and keyhole opening, and the neckline is finished with self-made bias tape. It is a real versatile pattern with elegant style lines that would be great for hacking — I am already imagining adding billowy bishop sleeves or a twirly circle skirt — but I went for keeping it original this time! I bought the PDF pattern several months back at 50% off and decided now would be the time to take the plunge on it. I spent one evening taping together multiple sheets of paper and making up a toile, before learning the hard way that A4 is not the standard paper size in America *facepalm*. After another evening of taping, tracing and toiling but using the right configurations this time, I was happy to cut into my modal and finally make something from it 😊
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Looking at the finished garment measurements, I opted to make a size 12 and did a FBA for extra room at the bust. I don’t often go for more fitted dresses like this, so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of breathing room in this dress. I do have a little excess ease at the waistline and through the hips, but nothing so irritating I feel like I need to go back and take it in. Construction was incredibly straightforward too, with nothing too tricky whatsoever. I decided to make life harder for myself and used French seams throughout this dress — I am bereft of my overlocker, so fancy seams to keep everything looking pretty on the insides is my current MO while I am out in San Francisco! I found a guide on how to neatly end a French seam above a split, which was really helpful and a technique I would certainly try again. I finished the centre back seam with bias tape. The only thing I am still finding tricky is neatly finishing the neckline with bias tape; I ended up slip-stitching mine in place at the end, as my original machine stitching made it look really bumpy. Help — anyone got any fail-safe advice on sewing a smooth bias-bound neckline?!
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I am actually pretty surprised by how much I like this dress; this silhouette of a long, dark column is quite a departure of my usual style, and yet I am into it? I am excited to do some pattern hacking of this dress, as there is a lot of inspiration on Instagram, but I think if I were to make this dress again, I would shorten the skirt a little and increase the height of the split.
Sew Over It Giselle Dress
Size 6 – 30
Bust: 31” – 57”
Waist: 24” – 50”
Hips: 34” – 60″