Zebra Print for Jungle January

This year I have garnered my inspiration for Jungle January  from the savannah rather than the jungle. I think the only requirement is that the garment be made from an animal print, not necessarily from the jungle, and who doesn't love a zebra print.

I found this lovely zebra print in a poly/spandex knit on a recent trip to Spotlight. I actually made a top from this very fabric a couple years ago, so I was quite excited to find the fabric again. I loved the top but it was just too tight and is no longer in my wardrobe.

I used the Named Clothing Kielo Wrap Dress pattern for this dress which I have made before here. However I did make some changes. Inspiration came from Anne Whalley on Pattern Review.

The dress was shortened to just above the knee and the ties were left off completely. This allows the wings to drape loosely at the sides, creating a loose fitting, yet stylish dress.

I found the drapes did need a little bit of arranging to sit nicely. I sort of turned the corners back in on themselves, telescoping the drape rather than leaving them as flaps. Hope that made sense, it is rather hard to explain.

I also lowered the bust darts by about an inch which put them in the correct place for my body. The neckline was also lowered and the neckline and armholes were finished off with a self fabric band. This is a very comfortable dress and I think it suits my rectangular shape so much better than the wrap style of the original pattern. How is your Jungle January sewing going? I'll leave you with my inspiration picture.

Happy Sewing

Kielo Wrap Dress Refashion

A few months ago you may remember that I made the Kielo Wrap Dress by Named patterns, in a winter version using a charcoal grey ponte. See blog post here. Although I was happy with the dress, I just didn't love it on me. I have a rectangular shaped figure and I felt this dress made me look like a brick. All those ties wrapping around my waist just added bulk. It has been languishing in my wardrobe taking up valuable space, so I decided to make it more wearable for me.

Kielo Wrap Dress refashioned

My refashion was very simple. I unpicked the side seams and removed the waist ties. Then I used my trusty shift dress pattern piece, to recut the side seams and hemline. (This is a frankenpattern of the Tilly and the Buttons "Coco dress" and the Style Arc "Kristen dress")

Pattern laid out to recut side seams

The neckline and armholes remain unchanged. I also left the armhole darts in place.

My new shift dress

The back darts remain unchanged.

Worn with a belt in an attempt to create some waist definition.

I must be happy with my new dress as I have worn it to work several times already. Much better than languishing unworn in the wardrobe. It's great to layer with a bright cardigan (Style Arc Nina made pre blog) and easy to dress up with a simple scarf. This is how I have worn it to work:

I really must attempt this refashion thing more often. I have some near new men's tees that could be made into something else if I put some thought into it. There is so much inspiration out there in blog land.

Happy Sewing

Kielo Wrap Dress for Winter

While trawling through the sewing blogs, I stumbled across The Kielo Wrap Dress by Named, a Finnish clothing pattern label founded by sisters Saara and Laura Huhta. This is a very simple dress, but also quite elegant.

Image from the Named website

Line Drawing

After stealing the idea of making a wintery version of this dress from Busy Lizzie in Brizzy (thanks Lizzie for the inspiration), this is the result:

Front view

I used another piece of my Ponte de Roma purchased from Lincraft during their sale a few months ago. I am wearing it here with my Grainline Archer shirt made last year. These photos were taken after wearing this outfit to work all day.

Using their size chart, I cut a size 42 which was a little smaller than my bust measurement. As I was using a stretch fabric I figured this would be OK, and I was right. The fit in the bodice is good. I shortened the dress at the back slit notch, which has brought it to just below knee length.

Back view

I copied the long hemline shape which dips lower at the sides. Maybe this is to accommodate those ladies with hips, that I am sadly lacking. Not sure if I like this feature. It may look better if it was straight all the way around.

Side view

When bringing the ties to the centre front, they overlapped slightly which made it all a bit bunchy in that area. If I sew this again I may take some off the side seams so that they just meet when tying at the front.

Close up of front ties

The ties are plenty long enough, wrapping right around my waist to tie at the front. I think the most difficult part of the construction of this dress was turning the ties right side out after sewing the seams.

Close up of dart and top stitching

The dart is probably a little high but it works in the Ponte. I really should realise that this is a standard required alteration for me...now that gravity has taken a hold. The neckline and armholes were overlocked and then turned under and top stitched using a twin needle. This is a nice clean finish without added bulk in the Ponte. I am really pleased with how well these openings sit with no gaping at all.

Shaped hemline

Here is a closer view of the shaped hemline. I turned it up twice by 1.5cm and top stitched using a twin needle. The fabric sewed beautifully with no tunnelling that can be an issue with using a twin needle.

I'm a bit on the fence about this pattern. I thought the waist tie would cinch in my waist in a flattering way but I look very rectangular after looking at these photos. My dear partner said I looked like a school girl (I think he was just referring to the grey fabric with the white blouse).

Let me know what you think.


Happy sewing