I had such a wonderful time participating in the Royal Wedding Sew Along that I decided to do another sew along! After a few detailed formal wear projects in a row I was happy to sew up this less complex vintage wrap dress for the "sew together for summer" wrap dress sew along.



This is a vintage pattern from my mother's stash and one I know fits our body type well. I have often borrowed her green paisley cotton dress from the same pattern but didn't have one of my own, until now. I think every woman needs a wrap dress in her wardrobe, its such a flattering style!


I purchased this wonderful polyester print for $7.99/yard at New Rainbow Fabrics during a spring trip to Chicago. I loved the print, but didn't know what I wanted to make with it so I purchased two yards to add to my stash. I made a few alterations to the pattern including adding pockets (see the vintage newspaper pattern piece,) removing the collar and shortening the sleeves leaving just enough fabric to make this dress and now wearing it reminds me of that trip to Chicago.



I made the dress following the pattern instructions and used a few tips I learned from my leader in the Royal Wedding Sew Along. Lindsey, from Inside the Hem, taught me to use colored transfer paper to indicate my pattern markings which was so much easier than what I had been doing. I also made my interfacings fit inside the seam width to reduce bulk.



This dress is the first time I used lace to finish the hem of a skirt. I really liked that this method allowed for maximum ease with my machine blind hem. I will certainly be using this method again!



I finished my dress with vintage hook and eye closures as well as a medium sized snap where the bust panels meet. As a finial touch I added HeatnBond under the interfacings on the front panels of the dress. This will help to keep the interfacings turned inside and, I hope, keep the snap from pulling too much.

I'm excited to see all of your summer wrap dresses!




Time estimate: 16 hours
Size: 12
Fabric used: polyester print
Care instructions: machine wash cold, gentle cycle, cool dry

Cost to make:
Pattern: borrowed
Fabric: $16
Interfacing, HeatnBond, and notions: from my stash
TOTAL: $16

I only made a muslin of the bodice and sleeves since the skirt of my pattern was wide enough I wasn't worried about fit. I cut out a size 12 based on the sizing chart on the back of the pattern and as you can see it was dramatically too large on me. I had been working ahead of Lindsey's videos and found myself pinning large amounts of fabric out of my muslin.

I put the project away for a while and I'm glad I did, because once Lindsey's videos caught up to me I learned about the finished garment measurements chart on the back of the pattern envelope. What an eye opener; I needed to be making a size eight! I sized down to an eight in both the dress and skirt, although I kept the arms a bit wider at a graded size 10. I will certainly be watching Lindsey's sizing video on repeat for future projects as well.




I had a lot of fun sourcing materials for this project. Most of the fabric and all of the other materials for this dress and fascinator were purchased from JoAnn. Its so helpful to be able to run out and purchase more, coordinating materials whenever I need them. But I also love wearing unique fabric with a story. I found the lining material at New Rainbow Fabrics during a weekend trip to Chicago and love remembering the trip each time I wear my new dress.



One of the techniques I wasn't very familiar with, but elevated the final look and execution of this garment was understitching the lining fabric. This is certainly a technique I will be using again in the near future!

A tried and true technique I used was hand basting difficult seams such as the armscye and center back. This technique always comes in helpful in difficult situations and is one I'll use again soon.

Working with satin also challenged me to learn more about the best needles to use. I had researched and was careful to use the correct needle on my sewing machine, but also learned the importance on using the correct hand needles and pins so as not to pull my fabric.



I chose this pattern because the faux wrap style bodice and full skirt are so flattering on my figure. One of the things I really liked about this pattern was the clever way the front pleats hide seams, making the three separate front skirt pieces look like one. But, my favorite part about this pattern is probably the pockets. That's right, this dress has pockets!

The dress turned out a bit short, but my only negative critique of this pattern is my limited range of arm motion. Given the fabric and lowered size combination I wasn't able to reach much above shoulder length. When I make this pattern again I will try the sleeveless version and see if that is a better fit for me.

I took the time to hand hem the sleeves and used an invisible stitch on my machine to finish the skirt hem. These finishes allowed for a more formal completed look, which was perfect for the gala I wore it to.


I used the satin remnants from making my dress and some tool from my stash to create the fascinator below, completing my royal wedding look. This was the first fascinator I made and I love the finished product. I will certainly be making a few others from this Vogue pattern when I can pull them off! My only negative critique of this fascinator is that I had to cut down the stabilizer to fit it inside the satin cover and the bottom fabric and hair clips pull away from the inner base. When I make this pattern again I will use a slightly smaller base and try to glue the bottom fabric to the stabilizer.

I also used a small square remnant to make a hand stitched pocket square for my husband. No matter my project I almost always have enough fabric left over to make a matching pocket square for him and he is always a good sport about wearing them. Not to mention the endless pictures he takes of my finished garments. Husband shout out!










Time estimate: 20+ hours
Size: 8
Material used: matte satin, 100% polyester
Care instructions: machine wash gentle cold, non chlorine bleach, line dry, cool iron

Cost to make dress:
pattern - $4.00
muslin - $10.50
fashion fabric - $20.50
lining - $2.00
zipper - $4.00
thread - $3.50
DRESS TOTAL: $44.50 plus tax

Cost to make fascinator:
pattern - $5.00
stabilizer - $4.00
hair clips - $1.5
*fashion fabric, thread, and hot glue from my stash
FASCINATOR TOTAL: $10.50 plus tax

Pocket square made from extra fabric and thread, no additional cost

After I got the pattern pieces all cut out and partially assembled I realized that the pattern I read at the store was for a woven, but the pattern I had at home was for a knit! I mean, the brand is Stretch & Sew for heaven's sake! The instructions I was working from called for an elastic waistband and I had a zipper in-hand. Thankfully I was familiar enough with invisible zippers that I was able to insert a side zip with only a little extra effort.


I am really happy with the final product, although I'm not sold on the midi length and will absolutely use a knit with this pattern next time! The chambray I used is adorable, but wrinkles easily was difficult to pattern match. Now I need a drink!