fabric and styling ideas for the kyoto dress sewing pattern

I introduced you to our Kyoto Dress the other day. Here is the post in case you missed it. Today I’m here to talk about fabric and styling ideas to help you get started!

This pattern works best with light- to medium-weight woven fabrics with a little drape like linen, rayon, soft cottons, and sateen. But it’s quite versatile, as I showed the other day.

I used a very lightweight silk/cotton satin for the peach-colored View A dress, and I’ll be honest: it wasn’t the easiest to sew. Satin shows every little pucker and fold, and every time I choose satin for a pattern cover I regret the decision. (I think it actually looks better in real life than in photos.) So maybe don’t choose satin, especially for your first dress. But linen, rayon, and cotton, yes!

And just for the fun of it I used a very heavy wool flannel for View B to show you that this dress can be warm and cozy for winter, too! Imagine this view with opaque stockings and cute boots. So I’ve shown you this pattern in two extreme fabrics: extremely light and very heavy. Choose something in between these two and you’ll be in great shape.

I have a few other photos to inspire you, but not as many as usual. With a dress like this that’s more “designed” sometimes it’s harder to find inspiration for you.

This isn’t the exact silhouette as the Kyoto Dress, but the lines are similar. Pretty in white, no?

Not exactly the same here, too, but similar. I love the slightly sheer pink with the seams peeking though.

We’ll have lots more ideas and inspiration for this dress in days and weeks to come, so stay tuned here on the blog and in our social media for more ideas.

But meanwhile, you can pick up a copy of the Kyoto Dress in paper or in digital format. I hope you’ll tag us with #lieslcokyotodress and #lieslandco so we can see what you make. As always, I can’t wait to see what you do with this pattern!