As you might know by now, you don't need a complicated pattern to look sophisticated and elegant. You just need to make the garment all about the fabric. With the following sewing projects we hope to prove to you that this statement couldn't be anymore.
First of all, we would like to thank June Owen, who is a fashion designer and fashion design teacher from Utah, for sharing her two sewing projects with us, for which she used McCall's patterns 6519 (t-shirt) and 2401 (dress). No comments needed, both garments look amazing and beautiful.
For the dress she used EBT's French reversible jacquard fabric from Chanel in silver and blush cocoa colors. Once you have picked the fabric with eye-catching design or print, you can use a basic dress pattern and manipulate it to your desires. For this project June kept it simple and let the fabric do the talking. With two plain horizontal bust and contour darts on the front and another two on the back June's dress got already shaped to her perfect fit. The fine hemming touch at the bottom and 20" invisible zipper on the back gave the dress its sophisticated and elegant look a-la Coco Chanel. As we think this dress can be great for a day or evening event and it would easily get you millions of compliments.
This next project, no surprise, again is all about the fabric, however, it can be a great example of how a vintage 1979 pattern can be used for sewing up a modern looking top. As June says: "You can take the simple pattern and use beautiful cloth to make a simple shirt in no time at all". She used McCall's pattern 6519, which she found online a while back. The fabric she used is a French viscose tribal print knit (collection of Elliott Berman Textiles) in vibrant royal blue on white background. As you can see again the pattern is easy and since it is a knit fabric, June simply turned the seam allowances under 1/4" to finish the neck and arms and made sure to use a long zigzag to prevent the seams from "popping". She left the sleeves off, finishing the neck and sleeves with bias binding. And voila! The trendy and modern top is ready to wear. You can pair your new shirt with jeans, shorts or trousers. You would look great and stylish anywhere you go. We would have to say that the final results really paid off and you can make your own dress or top, too, with these simple steps. |
This fall take a risk with fashion and push the boundaries. Don't be afraid to play with patterns and prints in your day to day look. Don’t forget to share your project with us We look forward to seeing what you come up with.
By Nelson Calderon (Elliott Berman Textiles)
Photos by June Owen, McCall's and Elliott Berman Textiles
By Nelson Calderon (Elliott Berman Textiles)
Photos by June Owen, McCall's and Elliott Berman Textiles