After a small break we are BACK with our Fabric 101 series.
First up, we have Alex who purchased some of our gorgeous organic printed jersey to make up into matching summer dresses for herself and her daughter. I’ll hand over to Alex for all the details on the pattern and the scoop on how she found working with the jersey:
I have been planning to make the child and adult versions of the Beachcomber dress by Made for Jack’s Mum since the pattern was released a couple of months ago, as I just cannot resist matching outfits! I fell in love with the grey cloud print cotton spandex from 1st for Fabrics and thought it would be perfect to represent our typical British Summers. I’ve obviously been proved wrong as we having the longest heatwave anyone can remember in years, but I still love this fabric. I love colour-blocking, so I combined the cloud print with plain white cotton spandex also from 1st for Fabrics. The plain white really highlights the print on the cloud fabric.
Both these fabrics have more structure than some knit fabrics, and hold their shape really well when cutting. There is less drape than some other knit fabrics, but this works really well with the flared style of this dress. When choosing which design to make, I opted for pockets as I LOVE a dress with pockets (doesn’t everyone?). I decided not to colour block the back of the dresses, and just to do the side panel down to the pocket. I also opted for the regular neckband, rather than the invisible one, and chose to make this using the cloud print fabric. Cutting both out together was a big task, but meant construction was much quicker.
Even with the colour-blocking and pockets, this dress is a quick sew. I sewed all seams using my Overlocker and topstitched with my Coverstitch machine. The fabric was lovely to sew with – it has enough stretch to work well with the pattern, but enough structure to sew without stretching out of shape at all. Both fabrics are a similar weight and went together well at the side panels and pockets. I made the child version fist, then found I could sew the adult version in no time because the construction is exactly the same.
All-in-all, I’m really pleased with this choice of fabric for this pattern. I love the quirky cloud design, and it is so comfortable to wear. The fabric is a lovely weight and quality, and washed well too. My little girl was delighted with our matching dresses, and has asked to wear it every day since. This would be the perfect holiday dress, as it won’t crease in the suitcase and is comfortable and stretchy for when you have had a few too many ice-creams. I’d definitely recommend both of these fabrics – they would also be great for t-shirts, harem pants and even shorts.
Thanks so much Alex! We can add testament to how great the patterns are from Made By Jacks Mum here at HQ, a few of us have whipped up clothes for our kids using her straight forward, beginner friendly and great fitting patterns.
If you’d like to see more of Alex’s makes (believe us, you WOULD like to!) check out her brilliant instagram page: @adventuresinfabric.
Alex also reviews her sewing projects in more detail on her blog, which you can find HERE. Pop over and see how she’s coping in this great British summer with her latest Tilly and the Buttons Stevie dresses.
