Tag Archives: Daisy Dress

Daisy Dress featuring Rare Patterns Boutique Fabrics

The opportunity to collaborate on the launch of the new Artist Collection by Rare Patterns came up and I just couldn’t pass when I saw that the Artist they were featuring was the talented Carolyn Quan. This collection features bold florals printed on premium linen. When I saw the print, I thought of Spring Carnival, Summer Festivals and Wedding Season. This is not only inspired by the colours in the print but the movement in the abstract stokes of the artwork. 

The linen arrived in beautiful packaging, and I loved the inclusion of cute labels. I really liked the beautiful colours in my piece, which is “The Spaces In Between”. I immediately thought of making the Tammy Handmade Daisy Dress when I saw this lovely print. I was a tester for this dress and had made the adjustable strap version. With the linen, it has slightly more structure, so I wanted to make the puff sleeved version. I also decided to use elastic instead of shirring. I think the shirring would have worked but I did that last time, and I wanted to test the elastic method this time.

I’m always a bit nervous when I wash fabric I’m reviewing, but there was no need to worry as the fabric print remained as bold and beautiful after the wash. I’m quite fussy with my clothes which are often made from natural fibres like this linen, so I like to air-dry everything. I gave the linen a good ironing before starting to sew. I used a 70/10 gauge sewing machine needle which works fine for linen.

The Daisy Dress is a quick and easy summer dress to make. It features a shirred or elasticated back which means no zips or buttons to navigate. This pattern also has cup sizes which helps to make fitting easy. Luckily, I’ve already sewn a version of this dress, so my sizing stayed the same. I made the Size 14 for my measurements of 38-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 40-inch hips and I used the B/C/D cup. No modifications were needed. The cute puff sleeves come with elastic gathers at the shoulder and sleeve hem. It means that the sleeves stay where they should and were easy to install. I found gathering and using the elastic was easy with this linen. It feels so soft to wear and feels very breathable which will be good in hot weather. 

I feel so lucky that in the process of recording my sewing progress, I get to sample beautiful fabric and patterns. It feels so good to be able to share such beautiful resources back into the sewing community that has helped and encouraged me with my sewing.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Daisy Dress

When I saw that Tammy from Tammy Handmade was looking for testers for her latest pattern, I was quick to apply. I had sewn her free pattern, the Etty Camisole earlier this year. Her patterns are well set out and written, and I liked how her pattern fit me. The Daisy Dress is the latest pattern and has the bonus of including cup sizes. It’s a summer dress with the option for sleeves, straps of different widths or adjustable straps. It also comes in two lengths and has elasticated or shirred back bodice. This dress is the ideal holiday dress that I’ve been looking for!

Being a tester means that we get to preview the pattern before release. I was so impressed by how much work had gone into the pattern before testing. It was such a pleasure to sew and test this pattern. I chose to sew the Size 14 for my measurements of 38-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 40-inch hip. There was some give in the fit because of the shirred back so even though it is fitted through the bodice, it wasn’t necessary for me to grade at the waist as I would if it was a fitted dress with a different closure like a zip.

Tammy also mentions that this is the first time that she has included cup sizes in her pattern. It makes it so much easier when pattern makers include cup sizes! I used the B/C/D cup. It’s easy to choose the cup sizes with the inclusion of the upper bust measurements. Everything fits so perfectly because of this inclusion.

Ever since I used adjustable straps for my True Bias Calvin Dress, I’ve wanted to add this to other garments. Since one of my shoulder sits a bit lower than the other, I’m always dealing with falling straps. Oh, did I mention this dress has pockets?

With the gathered skirt, I thought I would choose a fabric with fluid drape. I came across this poppy printed rayon at my local Spotlight store. It had the perfect amount of drape and weight. I do love to wear rayon in hot and humid climates. It’s so comfortable and breezy. It’s also an easy fabric to sew because even though it’s lightweight and breathable, it’s fine to use the overlocker to finish the seams. No French seams required.

The part that I worried a little bit about was the shirred back bodice. I have used shirring in other patterns but not to such an extent as this pattern. At first, I followed the pattern where the fabric is doubled over to line itself the shirred. This didn’t seem to work for my machine even after playing with the tension and stitch length, so I made the back bodice with white muslin lining. The muslin is thin and loosely woven and this change made it possible to shirr my rayon. If this didn’t work, I was going to use the other method outlined in the pattern which uses elastic.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em