Kathleen Sews Dress

A Sunny Dress

Kathleen Murch

Sewing blogger.

The wonderful team at Fabric styles gifted me this stunning lemon floral scuba fabric. Seriously the fabric is so vibrant these pictures don’t do it justice. The fabric is a good quality scuba. I’ve worked with a lot of scubas over the years but none as vibrant as this. Just looking at it makes me smile.

Scuba jersey has a smooth feel to it. Often one side is printed and the reverse is white. It is thicker than most jerseys, which makes it great for the colder weather. Scuba is not as stretchy as your typical jersey, this particular one has about 25% stretch. So you will need to take that into consideration if you are making a more fitted garment. I often use scuba jersey for woven patterns as you can make the garment more fitted, because of the stretch but it’s not so stretchy that you have to alter the pattern. I’ve made a couple of Betty dresses out of scuba recently.
Scuba has more of a structured drape, by that I mean in certain styles it can end up looking stiff. It certainly isn’t as drapey as a lightweight viscose, but it’s not as stiff as a quilting cotton either.

Being a jersey the fabric doesn’t fray. So you don’t need to finish your seams, you can even leave your hems raw if you like. But also because it’s jersey you will need to use a stretch stitch like a zigzag stitch, and use a stretch needle in your machine. The reason for this is so that when you’re wearing it the fabric can stretch and move with you, if you use a straight stitch the fabric can’t stretch and you’ll most likely end up with a popped seam and no one wants that. For convenience I made mine on my overlocker, it was so quick and easy I had my dress cut, sewn and hemmed in less than an hour. I finished mine off with a kylie and the machine label so I can always tell which side is the back.

As this fabric was gifted to me I didn’t get to choose it and I was only given 1 meter. But boy did the team nail my style, I love bold colours and standing out in a crowd. This print and colours are so me, I definitely would’ve chosen this fabric.

Because I only had 1 meter of fabric I had to think carefully about what pattern to use, being plus size most patterns require more than a meter of fabric. I knew I wanted to make a summer dress with either short sleeves of thin straps. The moment I went through my patterns and saw the Sunny dress I just knew it was meant to be. But I didn’t have enough fabric. Thankfully by playing around with the pattern pieces I worked out that if I cut one of the sleeves in 2 pieces I would have just enough fabric. I have to say now the dress is all sewn up I barely notice the seam on the sleeve, and I’m sure no one will stop me to ask why one sleeve has a seam and the other doesn’t. Although in all fairness I could’ve cut both sleeves as 2 pieces so they would both have a seam and match!

I’ve made the Sunny dress a few times before. As always with the Friday Pattern Company the patterns are well drafted and come with thorough instructions. I’d say this is a beginner pattern a nice quick easy sew. It also makes a great palette cleanser for more experienced sewists.


Unfortunately this pattern doesn’t go up to my size, but as I’ve made it before I had already graded the pattern. I always recommend when trying a new pattern to check the fit with a similar piece of clothing from your existing wardrobe. To do that you simply lye the piece of clothing on top of the pattern to see where you would need to make adjustments. For me I had to add an inch across the bust line and 2 inches at the waistline. You could also check the fit with a similar pattern you’ve made before that fits you well, again by just lying it on top of the pattern and checking to see where it matches and where you would need to adjust.

With the vibrant colours on this fabric I wouldn’t normally wear it in the dead of winter, but of course I had to take photos. To be fair in this fabric I felt warmer than it looks. I think it also pairs well with my leggings and boots so I won’t really have to wait to wear it.

When I’m wearing this dress I picture myself on a hot sandy beach with a cocktail in hand and sand between my toes, I best make that a reality when the weather warms up. This fabric screams summer and I’m so ready for it.

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1 comment

Beautiful Dress!

Ruth

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