Gillian Wrap Dress

img_8380Yes, another dress! Finally another dress ;) And I tell you in advance: there’s not that much to talk about this one. It is my third attempt on the Gillian Wrap Dress in size 34. I almost sewed this dress right out of the envelope (well, out of the printer..), I only had to do my usual length alterations and it fit me! There are some variations to this pattern. However I have only made the dress so far. Skirt-only and wrap-top-only variations are included in the pattern and there are special instructions for them. I wanted to try both variation for a long time. But you know.. when I have to decide between a dress and anything else, I always end up sewing the dress ;)

img_8362

The dress is a little different from my other two version though. First: all three have different waist tie lengths, the ones of the first one were too short, the ones of the second one turned out too long and the ones of the dress in the photos might be just right, we’ll see ;) I also made 3/4 sleeves. It is marked n the pattern were to cut for short, long and 3/4 sleeves. I simply cut the sleeves as long as possible, as I had only 2m of fabric, and they turned out a little too short to be long sleeves. So I shortened them to right underneath my elbows.

img_8366 img_8364

I bought the fabric at a fabric market. It is a medium weight cotton knit fabric, produced by Stenzo. The best thing about it is that it only cost me 6 €/m. Okay and that it is a really goof quality. I bought the fabric for the Peacock Lady Skater and my first Gillian Wrap dress at the same seller and they both still look almost as new and haven’t lost their shape a bit!

img_8365 img_8368

I have not been able to make such a successful business at a fabric market again. Last Saturday I visited again. The weather was great which is bad for this biannual happening, because it means: more people. They were everywhere. Plus on the autumn/winter editions of those markets the seller focus on knit fabrics and dark colors. i am a lot more successful in the spring/summer round. I only bought like 3 fabrics and all of them were for Marvin.

img_8371 img_8373

and as I said before there isn’t much more to say about this dress. The three main reasons I sewed it were: 1. that I thought the fabric is perfect for a wrap dress, 2. that I really like sewing the Gillian Warp Dress, the instructions are easy to follow and the sewing process isn’t as mindless as with other knit dresses and 3. that I bought a new serger. Okay, the third one was the main reason ;)

img_8344 img_8353

I needed to try my new machine and I had this beautiful fabric left and one thing led to another ;) The machine I bought is a Bernina 700d, it replaced the first serger I ever had a W6 N 454D. I loved this serger and is absolutely worth its money but it is also kind of very load and rough /if that is the right English word… ;))

img_8341The Bernina sews and cuts through everything as if it were butter, it is sooo much smoother and so much less load :) And it wasn’t even that expensive. I bought it from a commercial seller in the UK, which made it a lot cheaper than what it cost would I have bought it from a German seller. I also thought about buying the next bigger version to the 700d, the 800dl but I didn’t see any advantages the 800 dl has that justified pending 100 € more and so far I’m very pleased with my decision.

img_8357 img_8354

What is so much more fun now is sewing side seams and other seams were I have to sew over bulky parts. It’s like the Bernina doesn’t even notice there is a bump, it simply sews over it. The presser foot of my old machine always forced the fabric to the left away from the needles and I had to really take good care to prevent it from doing that.

img_8351 img_8352

I still had problems to get a clean finish at the part were the ties meet the waist band, if you take a good look you can see the serger thread from the right side of the garment.

img_8349 img_8348

Plus the hem of the skirt turns inside at the vertical wrap flap (or whatever you call that :D). I would have needed a little more hem allowance than the 1 cm included in the pattern to get it not to twist I think.

img_8380 img_8377

But well, whatever, I like the dress anyway :)

If you’re interested in reading about the self made tights I’m wearing in the pictures you can do so here.

I’m wishing you a great rest of the week :)

Macht’s gut!

Katharina

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

9 thoughts on “Gillian Wrap Dress

  1. Kim Mullen

    It is beautiful! I have that pattern & haven’t tried it just yet. I love the gathers. I’m like you, I always seem to choose the dress version too!!

    Reply
  2. Carolyn

    Well, you look fantastic in dresses so I;m not surprised you keep wanting to make them. More dresses! This one is completely gorgeous too. You look terrific in red. :)

    Reply
  3. Lisa

    Congratulations on your new serger!!!! I have a very old Bernina serger that can only be used on 3-thread projects now, (love the rolled hem feature) and it is still my favorite serger. Not as loud as my new one, and yes, sews like butter through any seam connections or fabric thicknesses. It’s fun to read your enthusiasm through your post! Now to your beautiful dress!!!! Red is definitely ‘your’ color and this wrap dress is just the cute-ist. P.S. Sorry I’ve been behind reading your blog posts. I’m trying to catch up a little today. :)

    Reply