The clever design and pattern-making by Schultz Apparel just keep calling us back! When Amalie reached out to us about her latest design we jumped on board to explore what she had been developing. The answer is this sweet peasant-style dress the Elena.
Pattern: Elena Dress by Schultz Apparel
The Elena dress has an elastic neckline with a raglan line that falls out into a glorious puff sleeve. It has a waist seam that flares out to a full skirt with gathering in the side panels with waist ties. As with many Schultz Apparel patterns no fastenings are required to get in and out of this dress, it just tightens around the waist with the tie.
Fabric: Jungle Garden Multipurpose Cotton from Spotlight
To sit well in the gathers and milkmaid style top with elastic the fabric for this style needed to we light enough to gather in yet sit well in the skirt and sleeves. We wanted a printed fabric but one that would still showcase the lines of the dress.
We used this jungle green printed cotton from Spotlight, which we found in the upholstery section!
The trick to sourcing fabric for this project is to find 150cm wide cotton, we didn’t have success with this so had to compromise on the fullness of the sleeve which was not ideal.
Finished Elena Dress
The Elena Dress is a very sweet style with some clever design features including the gathered skirt panels and belt at the waist to create the shape.
We enjoy exploring new things in sewing so when Case from Sew Unsteady invited us to try out her first pattern Junk in the Trunk we loved the idea of exploring bag making.
Pattern: Sew Unsteady Junk in the Trunk Bag
This bag is designed with a side band and flat front that has an adjustable strap and can be worn around the waist, across the body or over the shoulder making it extremely versatile. There are two views included in the pattern with the strap attaching at different points to create a vertical or horizontal shape.
Fabric: Jungle Garden Multipurpose Cotton
We used an offcut of lightweight cotton we had and interfaced to give it some more support. This pattern could use a heavier woven fabric and even a leather so there are so many options to make it your own. A perfect scrap buster too!
This Jungle Garden Cotton was in the upholstery section in Spotlight. The fastenings we used white cotton tape and found the fabulous yellow clip at Super Cheap Fabrics in Fitzroy.
Have you tried shirring? This might be the time! Gracie Steel has just released the Shirley Shirred dress that features a shirred bodice and a gathered skirt. We joined the testing team to explore this new pattern.
Pattern: Shirley Shirred by Gracie Steel
The pattern includes a range of options a fully shirred bodice, milkmaid style (not shirring across the bust) and a combination of skirt designs with a dropped waist, v yoke with a regular seam or exposed ruffle. We created the fully shirred v front bodice with v yoke skirt.
Fabric: Ellie Whittaker Leafy Sea in Pink
The pattern called for opaque light/medium-weight wovens with good drape such as linen, cotton, viscose, silk. We wanted to create a fun Summer dress so chose this Ellie Whittaker Leafy Sea Cotton Poplin in pink.
Finished Make
We would highly recommend including the option of including a channel for the elastic around the waist. As you are combining two varying pieces of material, a gathered skirt and a shirred bodice there is nothing that pulls the material into the body, both have movement and a tendency to stretch.
Summertime calls for fun playful dresses! We enjoyed the chance to be part of the testing team for the Petite Dressmaker’s new release the Mirabel Dress.
Mirabel Pattern Details
The Mirabel dress is a cute, asymmetrical babydoll style. Perfect for a beginner or intermediate maker it has a square neckline at the front and back with no need for a zipper as you can pull it over your head.
The main design feature is the slanted waistline and two slanted tiers. To showcase these design lines there is an optional ruffle feature.
This PDF pattern includes 12 size options in the layered PDF files with A/B and C/D cup options along with high options of Petite (5’2”) and Standard (5’7”).
You can find your copy on The Petite Dressmaker’s website here or in the babydoll bundle here.
Fabric: Ellie Whittaker Golden Gaytime Cotton
This pattern called for a Light/Medium weight woven fabric such as cotton, quilting cotton, linen/cotton blends or broderie anglaise. Given how playful the design lines were with the asymmetrical feature we wanted a fabric that would match this character. We went into our stash to pull out the Ellie Whittaker Golden Gaytime Cotton we had been waiting to use for a fun project.
To showcase the design lines we included matching piping between the tiers instead of the ruffle.
Finished Mirabel Dress Make
This is a fun Summer dress that is easy to stitch. You can create your own details by showcasing the design lines like we did with the tiers by adding a ruffle or piping. Have fun with the designs! The Petite Dressmaker has provided very detailed instructions to help you construct your own playful make. We can’t wait to see your version of this pattern!
Photo Credits
Photographer: James Christie Media Pattern: Mirabel dress by Petite Dress Maker available here Fabric: Ellie Whittaker Golden Gaytime Cotton Print
We were invited to preview the latest SisterMags pattern and explored the designs making the 68-8 Military Style Dress. The style is a straight-through dress that has a button-up placket front, a two-piece collar with pocket detailing.
Photo Credits
Photographer: James Christie Media Pattern: 68-8 Military style shirt dress by SisterMags Fabric: From the stash
We joined the pattern testing team for Schultz Apparel’s latest release. We were looking forward to creating the t-shirt as just last week we were reflecting on our top collection and commented about how we were looking for a great t-shirt pattern.
The Lucca Dress pattern is a style with both modern and vintage inspired details. All options comes with a curved front waist seam, a front button closure and a faux-shirred back. Options can be mixed and matched.
Fabric
This pattern called for light weight woven fabric and can be lined in the same fabric or another light lining fabric in the same fibres.
We created this Lucca dress in printed cotton from East Coast Fabrics. It was a white floral pattern with a green background.
We joined the pattern testing team for Schultz Apparel’s latest release. We were looking forward to creating the t-shirt as just last week we were reflecting on our top collection and commented about how we were looking for a great t-shirt pattern.
The Tetra pattern is a perfect everyday basic top pattern for knitted fabrics. The pattern includes two options; Option A is a cropped top with short sleeve and a lower turtleneck. Option B is a longer top with long sleeves and a higher turtleneck. Both options has a cute vintage inspired lettuce hem at neck, sleeve and hemline.
Fabric
This pattern called for light to medium weight knit fabrics/jersey fabric with at least 60% stretch made from fibers: viscose, modal, bamboo, Tencel, or polyester. We had the perfect piece which was a 1 meter remanent of May Gibbs jersey.
Cutting
As the pattern has a small exposed edge finish there is no seam allowance on the hem of the sleeve, bodice and neckband. It does include 1cm on the side seams and armhole seams. We constructed the t-shirt on our 4-thread overlocker.
Finished Tetra Tshirt
We like the fit of the bodice and sleeve shape of this pattern. Next time we make it we will make some modifications to include seam allowance so we can add a hem to the sleeve and bodice as we had trouble making the adjustments to our overlocker to get the lettuce hem design feature and double the width of the neck band to fold it in half to able to create a folded neck finish. As this one was a printed fabric the fabric rolled showing the white back of the fabric. We are looking forward to exploring more options in jersey knits with this Tetra T-shirt pattern.
Photo Credits
Photographer: James Christie Media Pattern: Tetra Tshirt Top Sewing Pattern from Schultz Apparel Fabric: May Gibbs printed cotton jersey from Spotlight Store
We were excited to be invited to be part of the testing team for the new pattern release from Gracie Steel. This dress is a great beginner make with a loose fit. It has simple bust darts and a tie feature at the top of the centre-back keyhole.
Adrift Shift Dress Design
The Adrift Shift Dress sewing pattern is a classic and timeless shift dress. This shape was a staple of the 60s and continues to stand the test of time.
The swing bodice shape features a bust and shoulder dart. You can choose a round neck or sweetheart’s neckline with a back keyhole and tie feature.
Gracie encourages hacking of her patterns but for the pattern testing, we wanted to create the pattern just like the original design with the round neck for the first time we made it. However, we have a few hacks up our sleeve and can’t wait to see the different versions that come through in the #adriftshift on Instagram.
Fabrication
The pattern is described as being suitable for a range of fabrics, both knit and woven, including cotton, linen, and silk or jersey.
We went through our stash to find a fabric looking for a bold print that would be a great showcase for this dress. We came across this canvas from Nerida Hansen that we had purchased at a Finders Keepers Market in Melbourne a few years ago.
When we were testing this pattern the fabric requirements had not been released so we worked out that we would need two lengths of the dress, as we assumed the front and back dress pieces would not fit side by side.
The fabric we found was not quite wide enough to place them side by side. As a result, we made the width of the doubled-over section and were the fold the width of the dress so that we could keep the long length for another project.
Once we had placed the front and back dress pieces we then fitted the facing pieces in around the larger pieces.
Construction
The instructions provide great step-by-step instructions for a beginner sewer and a “Super Speedy Construction Summary” for those more familiar with garment construction. If you would like some more support for the construction you can also watch Gracie’s sewing along video on YouTube.
For the back keyhole feature, the facing piece provides great coverage of the seam. It is a great technique to mark the centre backline and then stitch either side of the chalk line before cutting it open.
When Sister Mag Patterns approached us about making one of their patterns we were excited to explore their collection. We were drawn the details of the 16-6 Sleeveless dress with the collar, epaulettes and unique tuck detail through the armhole. The dress features a pleated skirt that has a playful swing and long zipper in the back.
The pattern comes in at an at home A4 version and print shop A0 size. We opted for the A0 zero option and made sure to turn off the layers we did not need and just printed our size.
Fabrication
For the fabrication, Sister Mag recommends virgin wool, cool wool fabrics or a fabric that has a nice slightly heavier drape.
We ordered a lovely ink blue Cora 8 Wal Corduroy from Fabric Deluxe and ordered a little extra so that we could lengthen the skirt. We love the mod style of the skirt but are looking to make a dress we can wear into the office so a longer skirt was needed this time.
Construction Process
We are very visual when it comes to construction instructions. The instruction booklet features a set of dotpoints so we took photos as we constructed our version of the dress and have shared them below with a combination of their instructions and our own notes.
Alterations
The fit of the pattern was great so the only pattern alternation we made was 1cm lift for a sway back. In fabrication we didn’t use leather instead a lined side panel and continued the lining throughout the bodice.
As we mentioned before, to make it suitable for our office spaces we lengthened the skirt but kept the original line and fullness of the skirt.
Due to the heavy weight of the fabric we inserted an exposed zipper compared to an invisible zipper which would be suitable for a lighter fabric.
Step by Step
We lengthened the skirt to be below knee so measured from the existing hemline down.
Mark the points on the pattern for the fold breaks of the skirt
pin and stitch the pleats together 3 cm in at the top edges
Iron in the pleats in all skirt panels, noting they are box pleats
Sew the pleats to the top edges, keeping the pleats in a little on the inside, so there is no tension.
Overlock the side seams (we did an open seam due to the weight of our fabric). Sew side seams.
Draw darts in the front panel. Press darts up
Iron the folds along the drawn lines to the inside. Sew shoulder seams.
Create side panels by placing right sides together and stitch along the top – there was already seam allowance included in the pattern piece.
Understitch the lining and press
Place strips for epaulettes right sides together and sew together on the long edge, press and then one short side, turn and top-stitch foot wide.
Attached the epaulettes at the shoulder seam, only pinning the folded edge.
Mark seam line on lining
Cut back excess lining to include 1.5cm allowance
Pin side panels to the back panels and the front panel
It looks a bit messy but you can sew from the waist over the shoulder all the way down the back in one line
We pinned down the tuck
Top-stitch the fold over 4 cm / 1.6 in wide and sew on the side panels and epaulettes. We stitched from the inside as we could see an even line.
Ensure the epaulettes are free from the top stitching. This is how the bodice will look from the outside
Inside of bocide.
Interfacing the collar
Place 2 collar panels right sides together and sew together, leaving bottom edges open.
Understitch on underside of collar
Place right side together and close both ends of the collar
Turn through and press
Samwich the collar between the colour stand
Understitch the collar stand on the inside
Close ends of the collar stand
Place the collar on the inside of the neckline, stitch, press the seeam allowance up.
Fold the seam allowance of the outer collar stand under and pin. You can now top stitch or hand stitch to finish.
Place epaulettes over shoulder seams, stitch in place.
Press hem inward and stitching. Attached the skirt to the bodice
Overlock the waist seam and center back seam. Insert the zipper and done!
We joined the pattern testing team for the release of the Mona Dress by Schultz Apparel.
Pattern: Mona Dress by Schultz Apparel
The Mona Dress pattern is a PDF dress pattern that features a V cutout at the front neckline and V shape center front dart. The bodice is fully lined, and the dresses are closed with a Center Back zipper. The skirt options includes circle skirt, pencil shirt or gathered skirt. See the pattern on the Schultz Apparel website here.
Fabric: Amalfi Coast border print cotton sateen print by Gertie from Spotlight
We had purchased this Amalfi Coast Border print by Gertie from Spotlight many years ago and were waiting for the perfect project. When we saw this pattern testing come through were knew which fabric were were going to use. There were so many elements to showcase this bring including the gathered skirt for the border print, clouds for the bodice and lemons in the strap.
Finished Make
The construction of the dress went well, just make sure to clip the center v point before understitching and check the angle of the shoulder straps to ensure they don’t feel like they are slipping for you body shape. What a fun dress! We loved the dart detail in the bodice and will be using this bodice pattern again.
