The Gathered Dress Hack: Maxi Version

I've liked the fit of my Gathered Dresses (long sleeve and short sleeve versions) so much, especially the bodice, that I knew I wanted to try the bodice on other dresses so this is my first hack.  I had two metres of wide double gauze from Stitch fabrics, bought at a local craft show earlier this year and I wanted to make a maxi sundress with it to maximise its floaty qualities.  So, I used the top bodice and sleeve, tracing the front piece off and shortening it to the pattern waistline marking on the back bodice.  I added the skirt and pockets from an old favourite,  Simplicity 1801 (here's the original post for this pattern).   

I've used this skirt with Maxi Darling Ranges dresses several times and I love the front and back centre gathers, deep pockets and smooth line over the hips. The gathers make it an easy marriage between bodice and skirt and as with the Darling Ranges dress, I added ties to bring the waist in whilst still keeping a relaxed fit. This double gauze is softer and has more drape than a Nani Iro double gauze so the finished dress has a floaty look and feel and is really comfortable in hot weather.  I used the short sleeve from the Gathered Dress pattern and rolled up the finished sleeve which works well in this fabric.  I think the bodice will be perfect to adapt for tops so I predict more hacks in the future! 

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The Gathered Dress in Double Gauze

Each summer, I seem to have a favourite dress pattern which I end up making multiple versions of.  This year, it's The Gathered Dress by Avid Seamstress.  I've made three, this is number two:  short sleeved option and in Nani Iro double gauze.

It's a little crumpled from lots of wear!  It's a great style for a heatwave: loose, but still fitted at the shoulder and with a little back shaping to avoid the sack look.  The sleeves are on the longish side for short sleeves and stop at a flattering place, low on the upper arm. They also help protect against sunburn but I could imagine a cooler version would be a shorter angled sleeve.  Any changes made to the pattern were mentioned here, sleeves were unchanged.  

The double gauze has less drape than the linen I used for the long sleeve version but enough body to cope with the pockets and is of course, nice and airy to wear.  The print is Sen Ritsu and has been in my stash for a long time, years even.  I picked up a great tip from Cheryl of Sewstitchybee. She suggested holding a neck facing in place by adding a label on the back neck facing and stitching through all the layers.  I find labels scratchy so I used some of the fabric selvedge and it works really well!  Great tip. Another Gathered Dress coming up soon...

The Avid Seamstress Gathered Dress in Linen: Review

June and July are crazily busy months for me, a mix of work, deadlines, family events which is taking up all my time.  I made this dress at least 6 weeks ago and usually in a British summer, it would've had lots of wear, but this year we jumped from a late spring into a warm summer which shows no signs of stopping and long sleeves are too hot, but I loved the pattern, I've just cut out two more summery versions so I thought I'd share this one before I stitch up the others!

I haven't experienced an Avid Seamstress pattern before.  As with the majority of indie printed patterns, it is beautifully produced with a colour booklet and step-by-step instructions.  The Gathered Dress is based on their already successful child's Gathered Dress pattern.  The adult version has a raglan sleeve and side seam pockets.  The main feature is the gathered back waist detail. It's a simple, well-cut dress shape, with minimal details and a relatively quick sew.  There's a zip closure but after sewing a quick test version, I could see I didn't need it so I cut the back as one piece and omitted the zip. No interfacing is needed (hooray!) and the uninterrupted front section is perfect for a feature fabric.  It's a variation on a shift dress and the back detail is what swung it for me, a basic shift often doesn't do much for my shape; this dress had the extra element whilst retaining a gentle fit. I had two metres of a wide Italian linen twill weave bought from Stitch Fabrics at a local fabric fair. 

I made a size 1 (UK size 8) and the fit was almost perfect for me.  The only thing I changed was to lengthen the bust darts by 3/8" to the  0/UK 6  size lines which is quite a common bust alteration for me.  I also flared the bottom of the hem by around 1/2" on each side to add a little extra flare to the side seams I walk quickly with quite a generous stride and so I wanted just a little extra room. I particularly like the fit of the neck and shoulders and I can see this pattern becoming the basis of other tops and dresses.  I am very small busted so anyone larger than a B cup may need to make a full bust adjustment.

I followed the instructions all the way through which start suggesting that after sewing the bust darts, most seam edges are finished before sewing.  I never usually do this but on a simple style like this it really sped up the sewing process and as the fabric frayed very easily it was extra helpful.  They suggest using an elastic method to gather the back skirt but I didn't find this worked for me; I used my usual three rows of long machine stitches instead.  The instructions are generally good with one or two little niggles where the pictures don't quite match the process- e.g. the sleeve shoulder dart came together following the instructions but it didn't quite match the picture, and occasionally some extra pressing details would've been good but these are minor elements in what was a really enjoyable make.  I added some homemade Liberty Lawn binding to the neck facing and over the back waist seam; it just makes the edges a little softer against the skin.

 I've just cut out a short sleeved version in Nani Iro doubgauze whichich I'm currently sewing up and traced off a short font and back bodice to add to a gathered maxi skirt so it looks like it will be a versatile pattern for me.  

You can find the Gathered Dress at Village Haberdashery and Backstitch or buy direct from Avid Seamstress as a printed or PDF pattern. 

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