Denim dress Clara pattern by Designer Stitch

A new Designer Stitch pattern today, this time the latest dress pattern, the Clara dress!

Princess seams in the front, round or V neck options, cap sleeves, flutter sleeves or sleeveless, three length options and the flirty flounce at the hem, and to make it all perfect you get also cup sizing B,C,D , DD.

You can find my YouTube review here.

I love the High-Low hem in the longest version!

Here are all the options.

I love denim dresses so when I had to choose the fabric for this dress and Ann, the designer behind the Designer Stitch brand, was writing that Clara doesn't have to be fancy my mind went directly to Denim!

I have a few pieces in my stash but finding the right one, suitable for this pattern was no easy and I almost went online to search some new denim:) 

I needed a piece of denim without stretch but also not to heavy because I was concerned about the flounce, the fabric needed a bit of drape to get the flounce to fall nice. 

This denim that I finally chose is not the perfect one, as it does have a bit of stretch and that threw my fit a bit off. 

I made my test garment in non-stretch cotton sateen and made the adjustments based on that kind of fabric. So, what we all know, always make your test garment in the same kind of fabric ( weight/drape/stretch/non-stretch) you are going to use for your final garment!

Based on freshly taken body measurements I started with a size 3B for the upper part and 4 for the hips but next time I will use a straight 3B.

Fit adjustments

Here, on my YouTube channel, you can see my review on this pattern and there I am also talking about my fit adjustments.

Even before I started on my test garment I made a swayback adjustment on the pattern, 2cm and later based on my test garment I took a total of 4cm at the center back neck ( in the test garment 2cm was enough but in the denim dress, because of the slight stretch I had to take 2cm extra off), tapered the skirt at the front princess seams and made the side of the skirt a bit straighter to fit my body shape.

Sewing details

After the fit was done it was only sewing and when topstitching is involved for me is happy sewing!

I love the different seam allowances in the Designer Stitch patterns, of course, you need to get used with this, you always find that in the sewing instructions. It saves a lot of time by not having to trim the seam allowance like when you would sew a neckline with 1.5cm SA  and having small SA in curved seams is making it also easier to sew. 

The dress has an invisible zipper at the center back. 

The neckline and armholes are finished with an all in one facing. Very easy to apply following the instructions.

 For topstitching, I used my new Pfaff 720 and I am very pleased with how that worked. I find that this machine sews easier over thicker seams and the stitch quality is great! I used a topstitching needle and a 3.5  stitch length. For the belt, I used the same color thread as the topstitching thread but the standard thickness.

I am very happy with this dress, it was a very enjoyable project. I love the fit over the bust and the flirty flounce! You can see here a small action video too.

Happy Sewing!

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