This pattern is also OOP Burda envelope pattern #7187
I wanted to make a non-winter dress for our nice (read: Valentine’s) dinner out in San Antonio over the holiday weekend. Back in November, I bought a stack of poly knits for $3.99 a yard from Jomar in Philadelphia on our way home from Long Island, NY. I loved this fabric because I figured I could play around with print placement.
This pattern was made up four different ways in the magazine, a top, dresses with three lengths with two sleeve options. Plus, there’s a gorgeous flounce you can add if you have the right fabric to carry it off. For this dress, I chose #123 for the length, minus the flounce. And #121 for the bell sleeves. The pattern(s) are available still on Burdastyle. The pattern calls for either a woven or a knit. And, because the print was on the border, I even cut the dress with the stretch going vertically at the front, and horizontally at the back. I would normally never do that (different pieces hanging / stretching differently), but I was stuck on making the print run vertically instead of horizontally as it was printed.
I’m normally not a ‘black’ clothing person. But, the print definitely helps keep me interested. Sadly, I didn’t go a great job on the print placement. I think it’s a little jarring the way it worked out. In an ideal world, the print would have had more of a northwest to southeast orientation and maybe a hit of color on the bottom right to balance out the left side. But, I’m glad I tried to do something different with it.
Below might be the view I like best since I was able to wrangle some print on to the bell sleeve hem too.
I can tell you I really love this pattern for a wrap dress and think it might become my TNT wrap. Why?
1. There are bust darts already!! Easier (for me) to make a FBA (mine was 1.5 inches)
2. There are release darts at the waist. So, there’s is great shaping that doesn’t come from negative fabric ease. Plus, it’s so easy to shove the volume created from your FBA into the waist dart.
3. The pattern is in three lengths. Yes, yes, I know I could just cut or lengthen myself. But, I is lazy.
4. I didn’t have to adjust the ‘V’. So, no awkward cleavage.
5. It already has a centerback seam and darts in the back which only help with my swayback adjustment.
The pattern calls for an interfaced facing. For this, I followed Ann’s Wrap-A-Palooza lead and added clear elastic to stabilize the front and shoulders. If not for her posts, I’m sure I would have just turned and topstitched instead of cutting a facing. The facing does flip out along the skirt. Could be because facings suck at life or because the skirt is cut off grain. I like to think it’s a combo of the two. Definitely next time I’m going to practice using the binder on my cover stitch and bind the edges.
I sewed a 40, grading to a 46 at the lower thigh. This dress was exactly what I was looking for in a traveling Valentine’s Weekend. It packed well. It’s good for my body type and think it works for me. There are some issues I see that I hope to fix in my next versions (not mixing fabric direction, pattern twinning) And, I’m curious to sew this in a knit where the stretch goes around the body rather than up and down. Luckily, I have two or three more knits to try this out in.
Ahhh, Jordan loves nothing better than to spend 20 minutes taking blog photos out in public on our mini break just before heading to a nice dinner. This is me, getting annoyed at him, getting annoyed at me. It’s obviously a vicious cycle.
Miss Celie's Pants 
This is such a beautiful fabric! Looks great and the pattern really suits you.
Love the fabric and placement and having darts and center back seams just is icing on the cake for us sewers! Your skin glows in navy, Renee! A nice touch to have some design motif on the back so when you walk away you are still beautiful.
Thank you for noticing the motif on the back!
thanks for the back motif mention – it made me scroll back up 🙂
Yep looks awesome!
Funny about your photographer – mine has also lost interest. I can’t find my tripod and I suspect my blogging will remain infrequent until I learn to take my own photos. oh well, it was fun while it lasted 😉
If it was daylight when I left work, I’d become your photographer! I still have my remote and tripod. But, it is so much easier with a photographer.
On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 6:58 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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I love the dress and the pattern placement!
I replaced the Impatient Annoyed Fiance with a tripod. Everyone is happier now. I set the camera to interval shooting, and have it take ten pictures, one every two seconds or so. I usually need several rounds of that, but neither the camera nor the tripod get bored and ornery. You can also get a remote for the shutter release, but I’m too cheap and lazy to buy one, even though they’re really cheap.
I replaced my tripod with an Annoyed Impatient Husband. Sometimes, it works out. Other times, we’re both left irritated. I did decide on this trip that I’m getting my own selfie stick though. And, a light weight tripod to take on trips. He also had minimal patience for my taking night photos.
On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 7:21 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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I have a Sirui T-025X and love it– it weighs 1.8 lbs and folds down to less than 12″ long, all while being a full-size tripod, and very stable– stable enough for macro photography or astrophotography. On the other hand, it was not cheap. It is pretty great, though.
We just got SelfieSticks in at Bare Necessities!!! #gamechanger
How convenient. I have to pick up a special order item this weekend….
Renee, I love the color around your face that the print provides. The dress reads navy on my monitor, and looks great on you, color, shape, length. Perfect!
You know Andrea. It’s reading navy on my office computer too. Hmnmm, I shot in RAW and I probably should have done some more photo processing. It’s definitely black in real life.
And, thank you for noticing that I put the print near my face to brighten up the black 🙂
On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 7:34 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Great dress and awesome fabric. I never want printed fabric or border prints until I see someone else’s fabulous use of one! About picture taking: we’ve learned to deal and laugh through it, because it’s going to happen!
I think this is a great dress on you. I also really like what you did with print placement. Maybe it seems jarring to you, but from here, it looks great. As to pictures, I generally avoid all things that create minor irritation with my husband. There are too many things in life that cannot be avoided. Those that can, I do. Not worth it.
This looks so pretty-I love your print placement. You should definitely make more
This is so lovely, and incredibly flattering on you! I actually really love the print placement, especially the bit that shows up on the one sleeve. And this looks like a great pattern – I can’t wait to see your other iterations.
Love the pop of color near your face as well–very becoming, Renee!
Please come back to Texas, and visit Dallas next time!
I love this! I think it’s really flattering and shows off your waist.
Very nice!!! You make it look so easy 🙂
Um…i LOVE this! And I like the placement of the prints too. Ugh, you make me want to drag out my sewing machine again. Or maybe I can just knit a dress. LOL
Ah! What an excellent use of border print!
Beautiful dress, I really like the border print for this style. Thanks for all the information on the pattern, I love the darts at the waist, makes fitting so much better. At least Jordan was able to take all these photos in the nice warm of San Antonio and not the cold and snow of your area.
Well, I must second the above comments and tell you what a lovely garment this turned out to be! That blue-black looks good against your skin — there are warm blacks and cool blacks — and I enjoy the unexpected color placement. Not a “coffin dress” with all that paisley dancing around your body. This simple wrap style is so flattering on so many women, and so easy to sew: no buttons and buttonholes. No zippers. It’s like wearing a really fancy bathrobe.
Also, vertical facings do suck. Only reliable remedy is to tack them down along their entire length, and even then they’ll try to flip out on you. It’s why I much prefer sewing a button band onto the front edge of a shirt, than using a faced shirt opening.
This looked great on your dressform and its even better on you. It’s really flattering. Color is great too. All in all a very successful make. I even have this Burda and I have taken note. Starting with a pattern that suits our body type makes all the difference.
Wow, this piece is absolutely beautiful, Renee! That border print knit is lovely and such a good match for this pattern. It’s just so, so chic! I’ve actually had my eye on this pattern for awhile and may finally take the leap, with yours as inspiration.You look absolutely sensational!
Also, I’m so glad y’all had a good weekend in San Antonio! Sam’s sister lives there and we go almost every chance we get–some of the best Mexican food in Texas, hands down. Did you get a chance to check out the redone Pearl Brewery area? It’s such a neat concept for an urban space, with all the culinary school restaurants and local shops, tucked right into the old brewery grounds.
The fabric is beautiful and the dress looks beautiful on you!
Beautiful beautiful beautiful! So flattering. The print placement is interesting and lifts the dress into something very special. You shine!
Laughed out loud at your last photo. This is why I do tripod shots when I’m at home alone! I really like how the dress turned out – I’m nervous about wrap maxis because they often look too “bathrobe” to me, but this one definitely does not!
I’ve tentatively signed up to go to San Antonio for a conference next fall, so I’m glad to hear you guys had a great time.
I love this dress! I don’t think the pattern placement is awkward at all; it’s fun and playful. And you’re not wearing it in sub-zero windschills, so really, it’s a win all around. 🙂
Beautiful, graceful dress. You look great, even with the “enough, already!” face. Made me smile to see your two handsome guys together.
Gorgeous flattering dress. You look great in it, and I appreciate the not the normal boring print placemat of a border print.
Very pretty – love the pattern placement!
Great fit. I especially like the coverage over the bust. I’d rather not nave cleavage showing. Don’t even get me started on the impatient picture taking husband. Luckily I have a really good camera and tripod
I love the variety of things you make! You’re right, this is a great style for you! Funny about the impatient husband. When I first met my husband of 22 years he was just really getting into photography & I couldn’t stop him from taking pictures of me. It was constant & drove me nuts! Now that he’s all but given up his side photography business for our embroidery business (he also has 22 years in law enforcement), he really doesn’t love to take pictures of me anymore. Ha! He figures one good front shot (according to him) & one good back shot & you’re finished. We KNOW that’s not true. So I use a tripod & he just got me a remote for my camera so I’m not running back & forth. 🙂
Love the dress and the pattern placement. Definitely a winner!
Oh, what a pretty dress, and you look marvelous in it!
Wow Renée, the fit on you is awesome! It is absolutely the right fit on you, it swirls around you so nicely, without being too tight or too loose anywhere. Personally the print placement is a success IMO: especially since there is no bullseye over the girls. I second this pattern becoming your go-to wrap pattern. I could have fallen off my fitness ball chair (late preggo!) reading that you didn’t need to snug up the neckline at all! Plus I see that you applied CE in a 1:1 ratio and completely avoided the pitfall of trying to sneak a little ease in and then creating permanent gathers at the neckline in–bravo. Very curious how an adventure in coverstitched binding will become…
Mr MCP was a good sport to take those photos, but guys are guys. Could be the right reason to treat yourselves to a remote photo taker thingie.
Your maxi wrap dress is beautiful ! I love the fabric ! I have made maxi wrap dresses in the past but I used Vogue 8379 and vintage simplicity 6099 with no vertical facing, yeah ! Will you participate in the McCall Pattern Company Wrap Dress Sewalong ?
My hubby too get sometimes annoyed of taking pictures like for my last top. So he takes them with the burst mode. As I have a tripod, I often took my pics myself 🙂
Hi Cidell, Greetings from Germany. I love that dress, a lot! I also wanted to give you this link to Gentleman Jim’s videos on tie-making.
Enjoy
Thanks! I saw that a few weeks ago and promptly forgot about it.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 7:00 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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IMHO – super creative placement of the border print!
Good to see a wrap dress pattern that has decent coverage on the bodice and around the legs, I’ll have to check this one out. I really like what you have done with the print placement, it looks great.
hi! I am making this pattern currently and I seem to be the only person in the universe who used piece 10 to make the front? I think it folds back into the right front howeve the skirt does not hang like the picture??? Can you give me some insight?
Do you mean the ruffle? But Trena at The Slapdash Sewist and Tany from Couture et Tricot made the ruffle. I don’t have the pattern with me so I’m not sure which piece is 10.
On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 4:11 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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It is the piece for the right front….it would make more sense that it is a ruffle off louse as the call it.