Friday, May 16, 2014

Sewing: SOLEIL Dress Pattern Tour


When I saw the SOLEIL dress pattern by Selvage Designs I predicted Scarlett would love it. And I was right! I think she would wear this dress every day if I didn't insist on washing it. It's just her thing--comfortable, swingy, cute and cool to wear. I am definitely making her at least one more.


If you've seen all the cute examples of this dress on Instagram or on Lauren's blog you may note a few differences here. I really love the original design with the open back but I wanted a dress Scarlett could wear to school now and this Fall, so I opted for a closed back. I also needed to add a little sleeve to meet the dress code. (If this is something you'd like to try it turns out that the bottom back bodice piece for the original design works almost as-is as a sleeve! I trimmed some length and made a bit narrower to fit.)

I already have fabric picked for my next two versions of this dress and I think I'll make them per Lauren's original design. I'm sure we'll get plenty of wear from them this summer.


This pattern was a dream to work with! Seriously. Lauren's work is impeccable. And if you dream of designing your own high-quality patterns she has an online course for that: Pattern Workshop!

I think my favorite design detail is the way the gathers in the front of the skirt sit between the pockets. So cute.


For this dress I used Summer Bambi organic jersey purchased from Ottobre Design with some pink ribbing at the neck, sleeves and pockets. I love it and I can't wait to play with some other combinations. 

Let summer begin! We're ready!

9 comments:

  1. So cute! I love the fabric & the dress. I think I like the pattern best with your changes. Great job!

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  2. I like your changes best too. Did adding sleeves use more than 1 yd total of fabric?

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  3. @Elasha: I was still about to cut this out of 1 yard, but my fabric was 60" wide. Had a bit left over.

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  4. LOVE! I'm working on my daughter's third birthday and am going to use quite a few of the ideas from your rainbow party (so beautiful). Do you think you'll have the dress pattern for your rainbow dress available anytime soon? LOVE your ideas! SO appreciate you sharing!! You're going to make this mom look like a rainbow hero :)

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  5. Darling! I love that fabric. The pink with the green such a sweet combo.

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  6. El vestido es adorable, la tela preciosa y has acertado completamente al ponerle los detalles en rosa, espero ver pronto otras variaciones de color. Un beso desde Sevilla. Ani.

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  7. So cute! Does the pattern come with instructions for the closed back or did you work it out for yourself?

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  8. @Hokum: The pattern includes an option for the closed back.

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