My leafy Sapphire Dress
In the leadup to the Sapphire launch, I thought it would be fun to do a series of posts about each of the Sapphire dresses and tops I’ve made for myself (this is the first). Plan is to post some photos along with a few notes on each dress so you can learn about the fabric I chose and any mods or adjustments to the pattern pieces that I made.
PATTERN
Sapphire (coming soon!), with the longer sleeve and dress length. I did make a few small deviations from the pattern in this version.
No vents
This dress does not have any side vents (the slits at the sides of the hem), which is possibly one of the easiest mods to make to this pattern. The very first Sapphire I made had slits at the hem, and then the next two — including this one — did not, and somewhere along the line I decided it was a nice feature to have for a longer skirt, so I made it part of the dress view. But you absolutely do not have to make it with the vents.
Wider waist elastic:
Rather than using 1/2” wide [13 mm] elastic, I tried a wider elastic - this might be 3/4” wide? To do this, you also have to cut the waist casing wider. What I did not account for, however, is that — since the waist casing is attached at the waist seam and then folded upward inside the garment during construction — the wider elastic made the bodice a little shorter, if that makes sense. So there’s a little less room up top as a result. It ended up working out, but do note that if you use wider elastic, you may want to lengthen the bodice a tad to avoid taking away room in the bust.
Length
I am 5’8 and so technically - as the length adjustment section in the pattern instruction notes — I should add 2” to the length of the skirt to make it the way the designer (ahem yes that’s me) intended. I always design patterns for myself, but then after I’ve made my first few samples I shorten the pattern pieces since I am above average. Even 5’5 or 5’6 — which is our stated draft height — is still taller than the average woman in the US. So this dress is definitely more in “midi-length” territory, and it hits me at about mid-calf, so should you prefer to make one this length, just figure out how much taller or shorter than 5’6 you are and plan accordingly. I love it at all lengths honestly, and I think it’s great to play around with length so you have a variety of different dresses.
Fabric notes
This gorgeous tropical Italian print is a stretch cotton twill that I found years ago at Mood. I made this dress in 2023 after putting the fabric on my “2023 Hit List” aka my yearly list of five or so fabrics in my stash that I want to stop hoarding and just cut into dammit. I have found this method is quite effective for me personally - making this list at the beginning of each year has really helped me get over the annoying paralysis that comes with keeping precious fabrics on the shelf for too long. There will never be a “perfect project” for these fabrics, and hence they usually get stalled out in the “dreaming” phase. Good news! I love this dress and am so happy I finally cut into it and made something so it could stop taunting me.
This particular fabric is definitely a lighter-weight twill, as far as twills go, but overall it is more of a mid-weight fabric, comparable to a lightweight canvas, a bit heavier than a quilting cotton. I like wearing it in fall and spring or even winter with leggings and a sweater over top. It’s not as much of a summer dress due to the heavier fabric weight. This beautiful watercolor-style leaf print is no longer available as far as I know, which is sad because it’s a stunner!
How I wear it:
When the weather is warmer-ish, I like to wear this dress with my suede oxfords as shown up top. When it’s cooler - as it was in New Mexico last fall when my friend Megan and I went to Santa Fe — I like to wear it with my Astragal sweater and Droplet Capelet (find links to those knitting patterns on my Ravelry). In the center and right photos, I’m wearing it at Georgia O’Keefe’s house at Abiquiú, which we toured last November.
Good news - the Sapphire Pattern is coming soon - so watch this space for updates on when it is ready! Get details and see more photos and posts over on the Sapphire page:
And get ready for this pattern with the notes and charts in my Get Ready for Sapphire! post.
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