elisabeth’s saint-germain dress

Elisabeth from our Advisors Circle sure has been busy sewing up our new releases. You can find her take on the Camp Shirt + Dress pattern here and her thoughts on the Chaval Coat pattern here. She’s back today with her pretty new Saint-Germain Wrap Dress. Take it away, Elisabeth!

I’m pretty sure I gasped out loud when I saw the first pictures of the Saint-Germain Wrap Dress.  The flattering shape is right up my alley and I loved the pretty touches like the shirred sleeves and the button closure.

My dress is made from a black floral rayon crepe from my stash.  I had purchased it for a different project but I decided it needed to be a Saint-Germain instead! I really like the way a drapey fabric works with the shape of the dress.

My first step for sizing was to check my measurements.  I envy people who have really consistent measurements because mine change so much that I measure before every project!  I blended between a size 6 C cup for the bodice and an 8 in the hips based on my measurements.

My torso is slightly short and it’s usually not something I adjust for.  However, if I’m making something like this dress that does have a separate bodice, I’ll always check first to make sure I like where the waist hits before I cut my fabric.  I decided to take out 1/2″ between the chest and shoulder on the front and back bodice pieces based on where the waistline was hitting.

Putting the dress together went really smoothly. I love the interior details on the dress. The waistband finishes cleanly, and the facings on the edge meet so well with the neckline binding.

I recommend placing your buttons based on how the dress fits on your body.  I first figured out where I wanted my two inner buttons, and then I stood in the mirror with those two inner buttons fastened and used pins to mark where I wanted the five visible buttons.  It was so much easier to visualize the placement when the dress was actually on my body.

The only change I made from the pattern was to add a snap at the neckline.  The buttons make the wrap closure extremely secure, and there’s a generous amount of overlap in both the bodice and the skirt.  However, I have a highly energetic four-year-old son and I knew that I would be doing a lot more running around and bending over in this dress than most people would.  The snap makes it 100% chase-proof.

A woven wrap dress, the Saint-Germain pattern features a clean finish and feminine style.

This dress also looks great with the Chaval Coat!  I love the combination of the very feminine and floaty dress with the menswear-inspired coat.



 

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3 Comments

  1. Barb

    Great work! Your waist looks teeny tiny in the dress. Very flattering!

  2. Cindy Cooksey

    The dress is very flattering on you. And the fabric is pretty with your hair. Nice job!!

  3. Suzan

    You did a marvelous job! Very becoming.

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