Pattern: Lady Skater dress by Kitschy Coo
Size: size 3, graded up to a 4 at the waist and hips.
Alterations: shortened the bodice by 3 cm.
I don’t know about you, but one of the main aspects of the Holidays in my household is EATING… a lot... which means I always end up with a few extra kilos in January.
So, for my January project of the Minerva Blogger Network, I though I should create something extremely comfortable and forgiving with my temporary extra weight: a knit dress! This is my equivalent of a pair of sweatpants, without sacrificing style and femininity.
The knit I chose has quite a lot of body and it’s not too stretchy, so it’s comfortable to wear, but it won’t highlight anything I might want to conceal in my midriff area, which is perfect. If you don’t like this print or these colours, Minerva has a HUGE choice of knits suitable for this type of garment, which you can find here.
For this dress, I went with one of my tried and true pattern, the Lady Skater dress by Kitschy Coo. I made this dress once before, so I knew that it was very fun and simple to sew. If you’re a beginner with knits, this is a great starting point, because the design is easy to fit but very flattering on any body type and the instructions are great, full of tips for sewing with this material.
Initially, I used the long sleeves, but they felt a bit overwhelming in this busy print, so I shortened them to elbow length, which is my favourite. I also shortened the bodice to hit me at my natural waist, but I’m afraid I went a little overboard, as now the dress is almost an empire waist.
As far as the construction goes, I used black elastic to reinforce the shoulder line and the waist, a little technique that makes all the difference in the world in terms of durability of your garment. I also used my serger, but this dress is perfectly doable with just a regular sewing machine.
If you want to make this dress, there is a kit ready for you, containing all the necessary, as usual. It also includes ballpoint and twin needles to insure best results with your sewing machine!