It was my intention to sew this dress earlier on in the year and swish around in the sunshine in it all Summer, but I just didn’t have any fabric in my stash that I wanted to make it with. However when I was on holiday in July in Florida, I found the loveliest fabric in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby which I thought might make the perfect Freedom Dress.
Although there wasn’t too much of this light teracotta coloured double gauze left, and what was left was cut into two pieces, I hoped that I would be able to squeeze a Freedom Dress out of it – with a bit of jiggling around. As you can see it worked and although the skirt pieces needed a bit of improvisation (more about that later), I’ve ended up with a beautiful new dress. Not to worry that Summer has now passed and we are charging through Autumn, I feel that the cosy nature of double gauze will be suitable for these mild Autumn days, and equally suitable to be worn with sandals or tights and boots!
My fabric choice might have been heavily influenced by this sample on the WBM website 😉 …
This pattern comes with several different options including sleeve choices (or sleeveless), neckline variations, and skirt tier lengths. It is sized for 0-24 (bust 30.5 – 48.5), and it’s the perfect pattern for drapey woven fabrics.
My variable measurements at the time of cutting this pattern were 35-31-39 and looking at the finished garments measurements I opted to cut a straight size 8.
My tips for working with double gauze – use a fine sharp needle/pins, and handle it only when using it as it can be prone to stretching a little – don’t miss out those stay stitching steps. It also frays a bit too so watch out for that.
I noticed that this pattern does not come with a fabric cutting layout image, it just tells you which pieces to cut out from fabric and interfacing in a written manner on page 3 of the instructions. This wasn’t a problem for me as I knew I had to jiggle my pattern pieces out of two separate pieces of fabric as mentioned before, but it may be a problem with a less experienced sewer, who might prefer a visual idea of the pattern layout.
I have to say that the sewing instructions are beautiful. The pages are beautifully designed and the line drawings and written steps are easy and enjoyable to follow.
I made the simple collar band and Bishop sleeves option and found it to be a dream to make. Helpful sewing tips on sewing this dress can be found on the Wardrobe By Me YouTube channel which you can find here.
My original intention was to sew the three tier skirt (there is a two tier option not shown in the above images), but my limited fabric length made this impossible. In the end I used ‘tier 1’ for the upper skirt tier, as per the pattern anyway, and what was left allowed me to cut a ‘tier 3’ for the bottom ruffle. Because I was adding a tier 3 to a tier 1 I knew that the gather in this piece would be too much, so I made sure that this tier length was the same length as the tier 2 ruffle would have been, ensuring those gathers would be perfect for adding to the tier 1 piece. I hope this makes sense!
Ideally I would have liked this to have had all 3 tiers and would have been a more midi length on me, but I’m sure there will be other versions of this in the future which I will ensure that I have enough fabric for!
The sleeves are adorable. The perfect amount of ‘pouff’ but without being annoying, and a lovely length.
The dress has four buttons/buttonholes as fastenings, but I find that I can slip it over my head without using these. Excellent news. Less faffing around 😉
I chose to wear this outfit with the dark grey acrylic scissors necklace from my shop here.
Oh, and before I go, just in case you were wondering, yes it has pockets!
I have thoroughly enjoyed making this pattern. I love the outcome and intend to make this dress again. I think it would be pretty cute in a viscose/rayon next time for extra swish!
Take care and I’ll be back soon,
Kathy x @sew_dainty
Photos taken at National Trust, Baddesley Clinton.
0 Comments for “The Freedom Dress from Wardrobe By Me”