A Little Tweed and a Lot of Time

You know that feeling when you've had a piece of statement fabric in your stash for so long that the garment you envisioned for it no longer appeals? And you just can't imagine what else to do with it?

I bought this multicolour boucle tweed in Como, Italy, many moons ago. It has several types of yarn in the weave, including a metallic gold thread, and the original plan was to make it up into a little French jacket. But over the years that idea lost its spark.

Then one day I came across this beautiful dress from St. John Knits, and was immediately inspired.

St. John Knits Miem Mint/Ecru Tweed Bouclé Dress previously available from Harrods

Using my basic dress block pattern (made with the Sure-Fit Designs Dress Kit), I created the pattern for a sleeveless dress with an A-line skirt, princess seams and front and back yokes.

Cutting it out was quite time-consuming. Firstly, the fabric is an asymmetrical plaid. Also, the piece came from the end of the roll and the grainlines were a little off. So, I decided to handle it in stages. I cut three separate sections - one large enough for the bodice front pattern pieces, another for the bodice back pattern pieces, and a third for the skirt pieces.

Each individual piece was then straightened out and block-interfaced with fusible interfacing. Due to the loose, rough weave on the back of the fabric, I found that the interfacing was shifting while ironing, so I needed to baste it in place first.

Each section was block interfaced, then the individual pieces were cut and overlocked

I carefully placed and cut out the respective pattern pieces, ensuring that I matched the plaid pattern as accurately as I could. Each piece was then individually overlocked and pressed.

Next, I measured the base of the yokes, and also the total waist circumference to see how much trim was needed to create the look of the St. John Knits dress. The trim was made using strips cut on the crosswise grain from the main fabric, and bias strips cut from some coordinating chiffon. Ultimately, I ended up removing the trim from the back yoke, as I felt that it looked a little unflattering on my rounded back.

Though it was a finicky process I'm pretty happy with the end result. The gold thread makes the dress more suited to evening wear, but it's first outing is going to be at a semi-formal anniversary lunch for my parents. Look out for upcoming images in my Insta stories.

You're most welcome to drop me a line in the "Contact" section if you'd like me to send you the instructions for creating this pattern from your basic Body Blueprint (dress block).

Until next time,

Caroline