Hi, I am Jenya. I usually blog at While she was sleeping, however today I am guest posting here on Maaike's blog.
I was not a fan of dresses growing up. Now I am getting older and, obviously, wiser I find them oh so comfortable. Whenever I wear separates I need to consider if the items go well together. There is no such worry when it comes to dresses. And of course a knit dress is at the top of the comfort scale.
I made this dress using a pattern from the English edition of La Maison Victor magazine, the Joy dress. Last year La Maison Victor did a trial print of the magazine in English. After receiving positive response La Maison Victor decided to release a new magazine in English around every 5-6 weeks. The current edition is already available in the US and UK, and it will reach our shores around the 21st of May.
So, the Joy dress. It really is an easy project. Please keep in mind that seam allowances are not included, but adding them is not a complicated procedure.
I sewed a straight size 36 as per my measurements. I did make a few minor adjustments after making a muslin, purely due to my personal preference.
When I made a muslin of the bodice I felt the neckline was a little wide. I added 1 cm to the shoulder seam length tapering to nothing as soon as possible. I didn't want to distort the shape of the neckline too much. I also lengthened the sleeves by 4,5 cm. Finally, I decided to line the bodice of the dress with the same fabric since I had enough. It is getting colder after all!
The most exciting alteration I performed on this dress (that unfortunately didn't photograph very well) is a sway back adjustment. When I sewed the skirt to the bodice using a basting stitch on my sewing machine it looked as if the back of the bodice sagged and the back of the skirt ended up lower than the front. It was not a good look! I followed this tutorial to get my bodice adjusted. I can't believe I felt intimidated to try a sway back adjustment before. Such a small alteration made a world of difference. Now the back seam sits right on my waist line and there is no unflattering sagging at all.
I used gorgeous bamboo jersey in colour Wine from Maaike's shop for this dress. The fabric is incredibly soft with absolutely amazing fluid drape. It feels a little slippery, so take your time cutting it. I can shamelessly admit that I used a ton of pins while working on this dress. I am lucky, the presser foot on my sewing machine is adjustable, so I don't usually have problems sewing fabrics that feel softer than regular cotton/elastane knits. If you have trouble hemming knits, check out this tutorial written by Shelley.
The dress feels great on. The fabric is very soft against my skin. Oh that colour! It is so rich! And who says big girls can't enjoy a good twirl factor ;) I love this dress. I feel very feminine and comfortable in it.
Project details at a glance:
Pattern: the Joy dress pattern from La Maison Victor, the magazine will become available in Australia around the 21st of May.
Size: 36
Pattern alterations: widened shoulder seams at neckline by 1 cm tapering to nothing as soon as possible; lengthened the sleeves by 4.5 cm; lined the bodice.
Fabric: bamboo jersey in colour Wine from Maaike's shop. 2.5 m was enough for me.
Maaike, thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to play with this gorgeous fabric.
