I love all the new patterns, but the Marais Knit Dress + Top is probably my favorite. I sewed up a muslin and was ecstatic to see that the seamlines were in all the right places. It’s a very flattering and elevated style that looks good on all shapes.
Liesl introduced the pattern last week and today we’re showing you some tester photos..
So have a look and see what you think!
Here’s Beth’s Marais Top:
Jeanne’s Marais Dress:
Melani’s Marais Dress:
and Sarah’s Marais Top:
Liesl will be sharing fabric and styling ideas for this pattern in a few days, so stay tuned. Is there a Marais in your future? Don’t forget to share it with us!
I’d love to hear some discussion of the bust seams and where they’re intended to fall and how/whether to alter them if you want them falling elsewhere, a la adjusting the height of a bust dart. There’s a lot of variety in where these seams hit the testers (all of whom have made beautiful garments!), so I’m curious if some folks found themselves adjusting them to suit their bodies.
I agree I’m curious about this too.
Sure. Because this style has angled seams at the bust, they’re going to start above the apex at the neckline and end well below the apex at the side seams. Ideally, at the bust they’ll cross at the lower part of the bust, but they aren’t intended to go completely UNDER the bust. This style isn’t fitted below the bust, but the seams will help to give some bust shaping. Looking closely at Amy’s photos, I think she may actually be wearing it backwards, which is why the seams are hitting too high on her bust. (You can see that there aren’t any darts, and the angled seams meet below the neckline, which indicates that it’s the back.) Melani and Sarah’s seams are hitting at the right spot. Jeanne’s are fine but could also be a little higher if she preferred. I hope that helps? You can certainly adjust the straps as needed.
Hi Liesl, I made the Marais and I love it! But I would like to make the V a bit less deep. Any suggestions on how I make that modification? I am struggling with the interction of the bodice and front piece lining up at the dots.
Thanks so much, Ellen
yes, this alteration will be a bit more complicated due to the intersection. You’ll need to raise the V at the center front of the body before re-drawing the cups to meet it. It will involve adding fabric at the upper part of the front dress and deleting from the lower cups but adding at the neckline. I would suggest drawing the change on the paper pattern pieces so you have the measurements to refer to. OR you could draw the change directly onto your muslin and cut the pieces apart on the lines you drew to help you achieve it. Good luck!