Autumn Rifle Paper Co. Fringe Dress

I've had my eye on Chalk & Notch's Fringe dress pattern for a while now and was finally inspired to make my own autumn version when I saw this burgandy Amalfi Rifle Paper Co. rayon at my local fabric store.

I've had a crush on Rifle Paper Co. fabric for a while now, and have a sizable hoard, but have been too afraid to cut into any of my stash. Until now. And I'm so glad I did!


I purchased my Fringe dress pattern a few weeks in advance and had it printed using pdfplotting.com. This was my first time printing indie patterns through an online .pdf printer and I was surprised at how easy and inexpensive they were to print. If I can plan far enough in advance I will certainly be doing this for the rest of my indie patterns.

I was very thoughtful about how I cut out my pattern pieces, aligning floral motifs across top and bottom pieces. I used my rotary cutter and mat to cut out the fabric pieces for the first time and was fairly happy with how that worked, although I should probably get a smaller rotary cutter if I plan to cut more patterns this way in the future. I made a mistake at this point and accidentally cut out the material for the darts. Thankfully this dress isn't extremely fitted and I was able to take slightly thinner seams and still make it work.

I had difficulty turning the ties and ended up simply ironing and top stitching them. I also sewed the ties into the side seams instead of the darts, as a stylistic preference. Although I thought I was being careful I caught about 1/2" of the right tie in the back waistline seam. I decided not to pick out that seam and re-sew it since I am likely to only tie the ties in the back of the dress and I had already serged the seam when I discovered my mistake.


I really like how this pattern dealt with the insertion of pockets. This pattern called for fusible stabilizer at the opening of the pockets, which I'm sure will make a big difference in how well the dress wears over time. Once the pockets were completed I tacked them toward the front. I plan to add stabilizer to all of my pocket openings in the future as well as tack them in place.

I love sewing with wovens and this rayon was a dream to work with. I especially like how this fabric ironed so well, allowing me to get a crisp neckline facing and curved hem. I will certainly be using more of my Rifle Paper Co. stash in the near future and hope to make the Fringe dress again too.






Time estimated: 12 hours
Size: 4
Material used: 100% rayon
Care instructions: machine wash warm or cold, tumble dry low, iron low in needed

Cost to make t-shirt:
pattern - $14.00
.pdf printing - $4.00
fabric - $41.25
*used existing thread and interfacing
TOTAL: $59.25