Grace Dress

Spring Holiday Capsule Wardrobe

The capsule wardrobe is synonymous with a collection of garments, a selection of wardrobe pieces that match well to create multiple outfits to suit multiple occasions. I’ve been curious for a while now about this concept. Sewing allows so much choice in style, colour, fabric selection but what makes a workable closet? This is not an original question as evidenced by the numerous books, blogs and YouTube videos on the topic.

My personal challenge in my short spring getaway, was to be thoughtful in the process of making outfits that fit the criteria of a Capsule Wardrobe. I then wanted to test this out on the upcoming trip. Historically, I am not a minimalist when it comes to packing, in fact, my husband would argue that I pack everything but the kitchen sink.

First step in the planning was to consider the weather. We were heading to the Margaret River region which sits in the south western corner of Western Australia. It’s has tall timber forests, gorgeous countryside and hugs a pristine coastline. It has maritime climate which is cooler than Perth so I had to consider some layering options.

So considering all this, the second step was to determine how many items to make and pack. I decided to limit myself to 5 items plus 1 outerwear. The items I took were:

Grace Dress from Abby Sews and Marsha Style
Pietra Wide Leg Linen Trousers from Closet Core Patterns
Ogden Cami from True Bias
Grace Dress hacked into a pinafore (see previous Blog post)
Comfi Tee in white bamboo jersey by Pattern Scout Studio
Wooster Jacket from Sewing and The City*

On the trip down to Margaret River, I wore the long version of the Grace Dress. The 100% cotton gingham shielded me from the hot sun streaming in from the car windshield which made it so comfortable to travel in. When we reached our destination, we ambled down one of the walking trails on the property. This was a beautiful eco-retreat where the owners went to great lengths to help guests reconnect with nature. It was forest bathing at it’s best. The quiet still air was only broken by the sound of bird calls and the whisper of the eucalypt leaves rustling in the wind.

Forest Bathing and a chance for some plant photography (a favourite pastime)

The next day was overcast but fine. Heading into Margaret River town centre, we settled for an unhurried brunch. This set us up for a day of exploring starting with Voyager Estate. Margaret River is a world-famous wine region, a funny destination for two teetotallers, but the region is packed full of things to see and do regardless. Most of the wineries have beautiful gardens and magnificent restaurants. Voyager Estate has also been a favourite for us because they make the most delicious non-alcoholic grape juice. In fact, we’ve often ordered a delivery of it when the craving gets too great!

Back into the car, we took a scenic drive to Boranup Karri Forest. These beautiful ancient trees tower like skyscrapers with an understory of ferns and wildflowers. Layering is always good for changeable weather. I was glad that I had my Grace Pinafore worn with my Comfi Tee. The Wooster Jacket was thrown on when the sun disappeared behind clouds. I was glad for some cloud cover because I spent most of the walk looking up at these towering trees, some are up to 60 metres tall! My only regret was not bringing the right camera lens to capture the beautiful birdlife.

The final destination for the day was Mammoth Cave. My husband initially convinced me that the name was derived from fossilised Mammoths, but he was telling porky pies. There have been fossils of Australian megafauna, which have been extinct for tens of thousands of years, found in the cave. It was very cool in the cave as you use the walkway that guides you through the cave. Special features of the cave light up as you walk through which is accompanied by an interesting self-guided audio tour.

I was so impressed with this combination of Comfi Tee, Grace Pinafore and the Wooster Jacket. It was dressy enough for a morning out and about in town and a visit to a winery, comfortable enough to be traipsing around a forest, everything was made with natural fibre fabrics so it never got hot during the bush walk and it was warm enough in the coolness of the cave.

The final day had an early start. We decided to head to Prevelly Beach. There are two parts to the beach, one leads to surfer’s point and the other part sees the Margaret River meeting the beach. If there had been more time, and with warmer weather, there is a canoe tour which I would love to keep in mind for future visits. However, this day was overcast again so it was great for an early morning walk. I wore my Pietra Pants and Ogden Cami with my Wooster Jacket. I’m so glad I made a light denim version of the Wooster Jacket. The cropped length of the jacket makes it so versatile. It matched equally well with the high waisted Pietra Pants and the Grace Dress and Pinafore.

Dipping my toes into organising a Spring Holiday Capsule Wardrobe will shape the way I organise and consider my sewing projects in the future. It’s so good to know that everything I’m making has a purpose and is used fully. Also, a bonus of planning a capsule is that I only had to pack one pair of shoes. Everything mixed and matched so well!

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

*Full Disclosure – pattern was gifted in exchange for instagram post. Now a treasured item in my wardrobe and there was no obligation to blog about it.

** I’d like to acknowledge my husband for his beautiful and skilled photography.

Grace Dress as a Pinafore

First of all, I’d like to say that I love the design of the Grace Dress as it is. The Grace Dress is a result of the creative collaboration of Taree Marsh of Masha Style and Abby Huston of Abby Sews. You can see my previous version of the Grace Dress on the blog. I have finally got some holidays coming up and I wanted something that will be good to wear with the current changeable weather. I love how the pinafore can be paired with a t-shirt or tank top for warmer days or a long-sleeved shirt or turtle neck for cooler days. It’s such a versatile garment. So, when I came back to sew Version A of the Grace Dress, it occurred to me that it could easily be hacked into a pinafore.

Before I get into the hack, have you ever thought about personalising your garments with a bit of embroidery? On a whim, I thought I would try it. Embroidery isn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I’m definitely hooked so I’ll be putting together a bit of a “how-to” in the future. Make sure you don’t miss out by tapping on the follow button for future blog posts!

Basically, the pinafore was invented as a protective garment for your dress. It was like an apron that could be worn over your “good” clothes. Very practical at a time when washing your clothes (especially heavy dresses) meant hard labour and was done with muscle power not a machine. Of course, that application no longer applies and we’re now lucky enough to be able to do our laundry by pressing a few buttons. As mentioned earlier, I like the pinafore for its versatility as a garment.

Okay, I started the hack by thinking about the front bodice neckline and the armscye. It is usually worn over another dress or shirts so there needs to be enough room to fit over whatever is worn underneath. So, I started by scooping out the neckline and the armscye. The neckline was deepened by two inches and I graded back to the curve to make sure that the neckline was not widened with that.

The armscye was a bit more difficult. I was a bit fearful at first and made quite a shallow cut. Probably only deepening it by 1.5 inch but I later deepened this leaving 4 inch from the bottom of the bodice. I realised that the deepened “arm opening” was quite a distinct feature of the pinafore. Now that I had deepened the armscye, it is natural that the dart was no longer required. It’s important to meet the back armscye with the front so I went ahead and matched that up.

Essentially that was the only modification needed! I told you it was simple. Version A of the grace is fastened by these cute ties on the shoulders. I’ve sewn them together so they stay fastened without any risk of unravelling. It would also be cute to do the buttoned version of the shoulder strap!

Thank you for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

“Cottage core” is a term that I was introduced to by my daughter when I started to point out these beautiful dresses reflective of an idyllic rural lifestyle which have recently become more popular since last year. I’ve read that it’s society’s reaction to recent global events, making a wholesome, clean lifestyle more attractive. The Grace Dress definitely falls into this category with its vintage vibes. It’s what you imagine wearing if you had a field to roam in carrying a basketful of wildflowers with a backlighting of sunshine (inspiration for my picture).

The Grace Dress is a collaboration between Taree from @marshastyle and Abby from @abby_sews. When they started promoting this, I immediately saved it and waited for the much-anticipated pattern release. I’ve sewn the View B of the dress which has a multi-tiered gathered skirt, buttoned shoulder straps and a casing for some waist-ties (very flattering). Oh! I also have to mention that it has generous pockets!

I made the size 8 with my measurements of 37 Bust, 33 Waist and 38 Hips. It has a great size range from 31:24:34.5 to 59:52:62.5 and after saying that I usually try to make a toile in my last blog post, I must confess that I just went straight into it without a toile with this sew because of the ease in finished garment. I’ve used this mustard yellow gingham fabric from Spotlight Stores. Gingham adds to that idyllic county aesthetic that I wanted with this dress.

To start the sew, I prepared the straps and put together the bodice. Pretty standard construction with darts for the bodice. I used a white muslin for the lining pieces. The Grace Dress Pattern has lovely instructions for French seams, but I decided to finish with an overlocker.

When you move onto the skirt, you’re putting in the pockets from the side seams. As mentioned above, I’ve decided to use an overlocker to finish my seams. To do this, I neaten my pocket pieces and neaten the skirt side seams on my overlocker. Then I attached the pocket pieces to the skirt pieces – make sure you keep the paired pocket pieces on the same side and be careful that you have the pocket markings at the same level for the front and back skirt pieces otherwise you’ll be frustrated by wonky pockets.

Skirt pieces are then gathered, and the longer bottom tier is attached to the top tier of the skirt. Now, how long is too long? This is a pattern made for 5’7 height which I did not modify. I really wanted a maxi dress and crave that swishy feel of a long skirt.

The most interesting part of the dress in View B is making this channel for waist ties. Skinny straps and ties are the bane of my sewing life. Yes, I have a loop turner. No, it doesn’t make it any easier. Yes, it still took me about an hour and a lot of swearing. Anyway, that doesn’t take away from this interesting little feature. This little feature sets it apart of from other tiered dresses as it cinches the fabric in at the right spot to make a very flattering silhouette. I chose to hand baste the lining before using the stich-in-the-ditch method to finish.

The final part was to sew the buttons in to finish the shoulder straps. In my initial try-on of the dress, I realised that I have slightly sloping shoulders which made the straps gap quite badly. After some thought, I decided to sew the straps on a slight angle which also ensures that there won’t be any wardrobe mishaps. I’ve still attached the button as I had already sewn the buttonholes.