Tuesday 19 July 2016

Thomas Mason for J. Crew -Inspired Wrap Dress

photo DIYWrapDress2_zpssfqxt5px.jpg
Thanks for the inspiration J. Crew. I'm sure the Thomas Mason cotton you used is epic and worth the $400, but I wanted a stripe instead of gingham (used a super lightweight cotton). This was crazy easy to make.

Tutorials take a lot of time & effort to create, and I choose to make mine available for free. If you enjoy this guide, you can support me with a donation that feels right for you, here.



TOOLS:
photo 0 Tools_zps15jkfnps.jpg
Light cotton (I used 1.5 m but 2 m is safer)  |  Scissors  |  Pins  |  Thread & sewing machine  |  Fabric marker  |  Didn't make the photo but I used some cotton lacing/ribbon to finish my seams + a couple of buttons to secure the waist

I. Here's my cut skirt piece (I'm a EU 36/US4)..
photo 1 Cut skirt piece_zpsu3insuud.jpg
.. and top pieces.
photo 2 Cut top pieces_zps5vveqhtj.jpg
II. Next I finished the edges of my belt pieces by pressing once (0.7 cm fold)..
photo 3 Pressed belt edges_zpspg1xusz8.jpg
... Pressing twice..
photo 4 Pressed belt edges2_zpsigi4gpjk.jpg
.. And sewing a straight stitch to finish.
photo 5 Belt done_zpskwa96a5j.jpg
III. Next I placed the back piece and the two front pieces together shoulders aligned, right sides facing, and sewed the shoulder seams.
photo 6 Shoulder seams done_zps3dvn6upc.jpg
IV. To attach the belt bits, I pinned them onto the sides of the back piece, a couple cm up from the bottom edge, right side facing right side of top..
photo 7 Pin belt to top sides_zpsnp5n4wyq.jpg
.. And then took the front pieces down and aligned the sides to pin, so the belt pieces were sandwiched in between. Then sewed the side seams.
photo 8 Belt in between_zpsi0onav0e.jpg
+ Here's a look at the side seam with the belt inserted.
photo 10 Belt attached_zpszmbxxork.jpg V. When I tried the top part on for fit at this point, there was some tension in the arm holes, so I added a dart on each side to get rid of that.
photo 9 Darts in back_zpsy0cfzda2.jpg
VI. Next I marked the center point of the skirt waistline, and that of the back piece of the top:
photo 11 Mark centers_zpsjoh8nd1e.jpg
.. So I could align those and pin the top piece to the skirt, right sides facing. Then sewed them together.
photo 12 Pin top to skirt_zpshgl2lorl.jpg
VII. To finish the raw edges you could just do a double-fold. I wanted to experiment with using this cotton lace/ribbon I had lying around, using it kind of like you use bias tape. I first pinned it on the right side along the side I wanted to finish, with a small fold up at the start and the end..
photo 13 Pinned ribbon_zps6jfuo4wl.jpg
Then sewed it in place as close to the side of the ribbon that's next to the raw edge as possible, and cut the excess fabric next to it off.
photo 14 Trim excess_zpszqwbyvu0.jpg
Then with the help of my iron I folded the ribbon onto the reverse side, and sewed the fold in place on the right side.
photo 15 Pressed fold_zpsv1xuq5bz.jpg
The result looked like this. I really liked the clean look and will probably experiment with this, but by doing it the other way around so this ribbon finish is visible on the right side of the fabric. Kind of like piping, but a bit more subtle. I did this finish on the arm holes and the front seams, and just went with the basic double-fold for the hem.
photo 16 Done seams_zpshiardfmu.jpg
VIII. As the last step I added a couple of snap buttons to where the dress right and left side meet each other as you wrap it around yourself. This was just for extra hold, the belt actually ended up keeping the dress in place pretty well.
photo 17 Buttons_zpsb1kfx7tz.jpg photo DIYWrapDress1_zps5hcozbtd.jpg photo DIYWrapDress4_zpsgguao8xb.jpg photo DIYWrapDress3_zpsikrdrpf0.jpg
xo,

Julia

6 comments:

  1. Hi Julia Im inspired to make a lot of your creations! How would I adjust the pieces accordingly to my size? I'm more of a US 6 for comfort. Also do you have patterns for these? thanks! :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sandee! So happy you're inspired:)! In terms of adjusting for size, you are one size up from me so I would add about 6-8 cm to the dimensions. To be safe what I'd do is take an existing garment you have that has the fit you are looking for, and use that as a guide to check your measurements. I hope that helps! Sorry for the delay in responding, been on the road:)

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  3. I enjoyeed reading your post

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I would love to hear what you think and learn about your DIY adventures! If you use one of my tutorials, tag me on social @contour_affair, I'd love to see!

 

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