Welcome to your March 2022 Dream Wardrobe.
UK SIZES 6-18
The sun is finally shining, and spring is well and truly in the air! I am a huge fan of spending my time making clothes that can be worn all year round. This month I have a treat for you. A beautiful soft double gauze and a floaty dress pattern. This dress will look amazing now with leggings, boots and a cardigan. Then, as the weather warms up you can pull it on with just a simple pair of sandals and be beach ready…
About the fabric:
This Double sided cotton double gauze acts as an excellent natural insulator as it is made of 2 layers of fine cotton gauze sewn together. This traps the air keeping you warm in cooler weather. It is also great for hot days with the lightweight cotton being breathable and light to wear.
I love the reversible print of this fabric meaning you can play around with what size gingham you want. You could even try mixing it up and having a bigger check on the skirt and the smaller on the bodice or vice versa.
You've got 3.75m of fabric, here are some other great pattern suggestions for double gauze:
I always recommend that you pre-wash your fabric. This is especially important with fabrics that are made from natural fibres (cotton, linen, viscose etc) as these have more of a tendency to shrink. Also, they are more likely to have a dressing added at the factory that can change the feel and handle of the fabric once washed.
Scrap Busting Projects:
One of our subscribers pointed out that there is often left-over fabric from her Dream Wardrobe. So I suggested that each month I include some scrap busting ideas for the fabric we send out. Double gauze is perfect for face cloths and makeup rounds.
Face cloths and make up rounds:
To make face cloths that I use to wash my face and body, I simply cut a piece of fabric approx. 25cm square and overlock all the edges. If you don't have an overlocker, you can use a zig zag stitch on your sewing machine or press and fold over the edges before sewing them with a straight stitch. I find these cloths way better than a traditional flannel, the texture gently exfoliates your skin and they dry really fast, no soggy flannels lying around the bathroom!
For the makeup remover rounds (I actually make them square with rounded corners) I cut squares of double gauze and bamboo towelling about 10cm square. If you have a rotary blade you can cut them together. Layer the squares on top of each other and overlock them together round the edge. By rounding off the corners it makes it easier to sew in one piece without having to pivot at the corners.
If you don't have an overlocker, try finishing the edges with a bias binding.
About the pattern:
The Montana dress from Style Arc is a loose fitting easy to wear dress.
This pattern would work really well in so many different fabrics. For a different feel why not try one of the following:
Notions required:
All available from Fabric Godmother.
- Matching thread (we have sent you a reel of the Gutermann rPET thread made entirely from recycled plastic bottles)
About your gift:
Add a more professional finish to your me made garments by adding a label. These Dream Wardrobe labels will help you build your own Dream Wardrobe.
#fgdreamwardrobe
Please use the hashtag #fgdreamwardrobe and share your unboxing and makes on social media.
Happy sewing, Josie xxx
Julia's Sewing Notes:
Ironing
This fabric irons beautifully and easily. It does naturally have crinkles in it so don’t iron it too much. I used almost the maximum heat setting on my iron and a little steam.
Cutting Out
This dress / top has plenty of ease so after comparing your body measurement to those on the pattern, look at the ‘Finished garment measurements’ to help you choose the right size. I chose a size smaller than the one which best fitted the body measurements.
If you’re using the double-sided gingham fabric for your project you can choose to use either side of the fabric, or to make the top from one size of gingham and the skirt from the other size. I made mine all from the smaller size checks.
Transferring pattern markings
Make sure to transfer all the notches – I use a tiny snip in the centre of the notch marking. Make sure to mark the centre back notch and notches of the fold lines on the back pattern piece. There’s also a tiny dart on the shoulder to transfer to your fabric.
I applied interfacing to the back bodice before I transferred the markings for the buttons.
Interfacing
I applied more interfacing than the pattern suggested.
The double gauze fabric is very lightweight so I chose to interface the back section for 9.5cm to cover the entire button stand section. This will provide more stability for the button holes and the buttons.
Making up the garment
I used a size 80/12 universal needle as the fabric is lightweight. Make sure to use a fresh (ish) needle as this fabric will easily be snagged by a blunt needle.
I edge finished all the seams with a 3-thread narrow overlocking (serging) stitch. This is my preferred method for overlocking woven fabrics which don’t easily fray. Simply remove and unthread the left needle of your overlocker (serger) to create a narrower stitch.
More tutorials and videos on techniques can be found at www.houseofmisssew.com or https://www.youtube.com/c/HouseofMissSew/videos