Fabric 101 – Part 3: Emma’s Grecian-style jersey dress
We have another great instalment of our fabric review series – this time from Emma, who got in touch with us and sent an image of a Grecian-style drape dress that she wanted to make … a few emails backwards and forwards with photographs and we landed on some beautiful grey marl single knit jersey. Over to Emma for the low-down.
I emailed 1st for fabrics with a long list or things I required from a fabric.
My requirements:
-At least 30% stretch.
-Good recovery.
-Thin enough to twist and wrap so that excess bulk was not created.
-Stable so that I could leave the edges raw.
-Nice drape.
-A nice colour.I wasn’t asking much was I?! Well this fabric fits the bill and more!!
Super soft and drapes beautifully, I couldn’t have asked for better quality and the raw edges look soft and clean on the finished garment.
I’d compare the thickness to that of a thin stretch t-shirt.
Another bonus is that it doesn’t hold creases excessively which is great with this style dress.
And as for the colour, well I think it’s created the perfect casual dress that can be accessorised however I want (the fact that 1st for fabrics has ordered more of this fabric in different colours means that I will soon have more of this dress in my wardrobe).
To cut it out I made extra sure that everything was laid flat as its easy for this type of fabric to bunch up through the layers, I used a rotary cutter and it was really easy (no fighting through layers) to do the straps they needed a nice straight edge so I used a non slip ruler to guide my rotary cutter.
This was a simple dress to sew so the fabric didn’t need much manipulation other than stretching the waist band to fit the skirt.
I used a needle for lightweight fabric on a zigzag stitch, I found the fabric easy to sew with overall.
After completing the dress I constructed a padded strapless crop too to wear with the dress as an added layer of coverage (with two young children this will definitely preserve my dignity)
So overall I couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate and flattering fabric. And the staff at 1st For Fabrics were more than happy to help me find one that fit what I needed (which we all know can be difficult to do through online shops).
Thanks so much Emma – its amazing how such a basic staple fabric can create stunning results!
This fabric is currently out of stock … but not for long! We have the grey coming back in the next few weeks plus (as Emma mentioned) a rainbow of other colours too..
If you’d like to review one of our fabrics, then have a read of our quick guide and FAQ here – any questions then please drop us a line at info@1stforfabrics.co.uk