Suna's Mind the Maker Pauline and Kim Dress hack
Hello! I'm Suna from @threadbitchbrighton.
I was delighted to collaborate with Sew Me Sunshine to make this dress that I've been dreaming of for a while now.
I had my eye on this viscose fabric by Mind the Maker- a company who produces some of the highest quality fabrics with an emphasis on responsible manufacturing. Their prints are always stunning and I was particularly drawn to this print- I love how the pink florals pop out so vibrantly against the dark green background.
I chose the Closet Core Patterns Pauline dress for all of its beautiful design features- its elegant shape, dramatic sleeves and of course the back cut out detail which is the real USP. I decided to switch the front bodice for the By Hand London Kim Bodice as I prefer the princess seam construction and thought the sweetheart neckline would just top it off for a real chef's kiss finish.
I started off by making a toile of the bodice and then made a few adjustments according to the fit which were as follows:
- Lowered the neckline by 1cm
- Lowered and widened the bust apex by 2cm and 1cm respectively
- Graded out by 1cm at the waist.
I first constructed the Kim front bodice and then followed the Pauline instructions as normal, lining the bodice and skirt fully.
I expected the construction of the back detail to be complicated but it thankfully went fairly smoothly!
Although I did opt to add pockets, it's a bit of a squeeze to get my hands into them, plus they add a bit of bulk to the skirt, so if I were to make the dress again I'd probably leave them out.
Finally I added a waist tie to add a touch more definition at the waist, which is held in place by some discrete belt loops (Tilly and the Buttons does an excellent tutorial for this!).
Overall I absolutely love how this dress turned out. The fabric drapes and moves so beautifully, it demands a lot of swishing.
Thank you to Sew Me Sunshine for gifting me this beautiful fabric. I couldn't recommend them more for their excellent fabric selection and amazing customer service.
Head over to @threadbitchbrighton to follow more sewing adventures...
*Suna was provided the fabric of her choice free of charge for her blog post & she was provided with a £50 voucher as payment for her time*