I knew I had to make this dress, from Named Patterns, when I saw photos of it on other people. I love its drape and drama. I’ve never been a fan of maxi dresses (on me), so I knew I’d want to go shorter, but the dress’s beauty, combined with its (purported) ease of construction made this a must-sew.
The versions I liked best were all made from solid colors, which seem to emphasize the dress’s dramatic curves. The version of the pattern I used (I understand it’s been updated recently) recommended a knit with 20-60% stretch. I hunted around on Fabric.com and found a coral knit I liked, but at the last minute I needed (“needed”) to go to Joann anyway, so I ended up picking up a coral knit they had in stock. Because immediate gratification. (Did you know that it’s apparently “Joann,” not “Joann’s”? That sounds really wrong.)
I don’t know what kind of knit it is, exactly — I need to learn more about fabric composition — but it ended up being quite spongy and a challenge to work with. The basic construction of the dress is, as everyone says, pretty easy: just 3 pieces to sew, including the sash. (Here is an extremely helpful diagram, via PatternReview, about how to shorten the Kielo without losing its shape. Took me forever to find this!) But finishing the neckline and armscyes had me stumped.
The instructions suggest either just folding down and topstitching, or attaching binding. I figured I should apply binding, just to be professional, I guess. But I’m not very good at that yet, especially when it comes to knits, so I read a million tutorials and practiced on a bunch of scraps. There are, as I learned, many methods of attaching binding. The one that seemed to look best in my trials was a strip of binding folded in half, serged on to the right side of the garment, then flipped over and topstitched with a double-needle.
This worked, for the most part, but in the process I’m pretty sure I stretched the neckline and the armscyes. I need to remember to cut binding smaller than the openings and then stretch it as I sew. I also had terrible problems with my thread twisting into knots and breaking, so I had to do a lot of re-threading. I’m not sure if there’s a way to prevent that — better thread? Sharper needles? Stabilizer?
I hadn’t really used stabilizer in the past, but about halfway through Amazon delivered the package of HeatnBond Soft Stretch that I’d ordered, so I used that on one of the armscyes, the neckline, and the hem. To be honest, I don’t think it really made a difference. I may need something a little heavier.
I also really need to figure out the differential feed on my serger. No matter how many times I adjust it, I get wavy seams on knits. I’m not sure what’s going on.
With all these problems, I sort of expected the final product to be a mess, but I’m actually pretty happy with the way it looks. It’s super comfortable, has a lot of drama, and drapes the way I’d hoped. Unfortunately, this knit seems to highlight lumps and bumps, but I’ve decided I don’t care and intend to wear the dress anyway.
There are a lot of great Kielo dresses out there, but I think the ones I like best are made out of fabric with a little more structure, so I may try something like a linen blend on my next attempt.
Next, I’d really like to make Dora a dress for her graduation on Friday, out of a ridiculous shiny silver stretch fabric that was a half-off remnant at Joann. But I don’t know if that’s going to happen, since my latest sewing jag has me seriously sleep-deprived and I’m way behind on my grading (as usual).