One of my most revisited patterns this year has been the Chalk and Notch Fringe dress; so, when I received this beautiful Midsummer Leaves rayon fabric, I knew – despite being tempted by other patterns, including the Sew Over It Margarite and Penny dresses and the Jennifer Lauren Handmade Kinfolk dress – which would also look beautiful in this fabric, that there would be more longevity in the Fringe dress for me. One of the main instigations for my taking up sewing three years ago was to curate a sustainable wardrobe, so throughout my pregnancy and during the last few months, postpartum, I have endeavoured to make garments that will not only serve me well at this juncture of my life but also later down the line.

Being six months postpartum, my body still has not found equilibrium and I am in no hurry to force it into what it once was – the Fringe dress allows me the comfort I need now but is designed in such a way that it will still work in my wardrobe when my measurements get back to what they were.

The Fringe pattern is a woven dress and blouse with two views. View A has a button up front, elbow sleeve and sleeve tab. View B has a pull over, notched front with a cuff. Both views include two cup sizes in sizes 0-30 (making it a wonderfully inclusive pattern), optional waist ties, and the sleeve/cuffs are interchangeable.

The Fringe dress is designed to be made with a light to medium weight woven fabric, so rayon is perfect for this pattern, although I have made the dress previously in various different fabrics including double gauze, tencel ramie, and cotton poplin, all of which give a very different feel to the dress.

My postpartum measurements (particularly at the bust thanks to nursing) might have made the adjustments to this pattern extensive but, thankfully, as I previously mentioned, this pattern is drafted for two cup sizes – a A/B and C/D cup – so the work I had to do on the bust was minimal. While I am usually a dressmaking F cup, there is enough ease in this pattern that I only had to perform a 1” FBA. There is quite a lot of ease built throughout the pattern so, depending on how much ease you prefer, you may get away with sizing down in this pattern from where your measurements place you on the chart. I personally prefer my dresses to look more fitted than flowing so I always make my decision on which size to make based on the finished measurements rather than the size chart.

• It is always worth prewashing fabric as it will shrink, and you don’t want to risk spending a lot of time and effort on a garment if it is not going to fit after washing.
• Pre-iron your fabric – with a fabric like this, there is a likelihood of wrinkling in the wash so always iron before cutting into it to ensure the fit of the garment is spot on.
• Take care if you are pinning rayon / viscose as it is liable to snag – always keep your pins within the seam allowance or you could even use pattern weights and a rotary cutter if you find the fabric too slippery.
• Use a new, sharp needle – a 80/12 or 70/10 would also be the obvious choices but, if you can, pick up some micro-tex needles for sewing delicate fabrics.
• Do not skip staystitching necklines and curves as the fabric is prone to stretching and you want to make sure your pieces line up perfectly during the construction process.
• You will want to make sure to finish your seams as rayon viscose is likely to fray.

The instructions are incredibly clear and well written for this pattern so I would have no hesitation recommending this pattern to beginners. It isn’t the fastest sew but it comes together quite easily. One change I made (not fitting related) was to widen the ties a little; because this fabric is liable to fray, I made it a little wider to make it easier to turn out and also to make it easier to edgestitch the ties which I always like to do as it makes them easier to iron after washing.

There are so many features I adore about this pattern, hence coming back to it again and again. I find the neckline to be very flattering (more so now that ever with my breastfeeding measurements!), the cuffed dolman sleeves (for someone who is heavy at the upper arm this makes fitting a breeze and no bicep adjustment is needed), the sleeve tab and the curved hem (however, because I was sewing with rayon which drops a lot, I opted to make the skirt with a straight hem so that I didn’t have to try and even out the curve).

I loved the colours of the fabric – they really remind me of a summer sunset – which are all the more vivid by way of being printed on to the fabric and found the most perfect Pigeon Wishes buttons in my stash to finish off my make. This will certainly get a lot of wear if the current warm, sunny weather sticks around.

Thank you to Cotswold Sewing Centres for having me as a Fabric Ambassador.

Happy stitching,

Mary-Ellen @shesewshappiness x

Buy the fabric here.