Like many others out there, I’ve been kind of obsessed with #cottagecore of late. And admittedly, I’m a little late to the game. That being said, pastoral life has always held my interest, at least in the last couple of decades. While I dream of my country home and peruse the Son de Flor & French General websites, I found a very practical way to show my love for this aesthetic and lifestyle.
The inspiration to create this garment came by way of a gift of beautiful yardage from a European linen company - Wild Linens. The fabric arrived so beautifully and ethically packaged. Very well protected but no plastic in site. Bonus points right there! The hand was super soft - they wash their linen fabric which gives it a rustic finish while having the gentlest touch against the skin.
My inspiration for the style came from both a pattern I had on hand - Closet Core Patterns - Fiona Dress, as well as a pinafore dress I saw on Instagram. With a pinafore style (wide straps on a fitted bodice) I can style it many ways and layer it with a light blouse or even a fitted turtleneck in the cooler months.
I knew I wanted a flowing skirt, which is different from the straight skirt of the Fiona Dress and I wanted a clean front without buttons. This is how I got the look:
The front bodice was cut on the fold at the center line, instead of using the placket. I opted to put a zip on the side instead.
The skirt was made using another pattern I had on hand - Simplicity 8384, which has a gored skirt and an elastic waist (in the back). Because I wanted a sweep of a skirt without seams, I overlapped the pattern pieces at the gore seams and pinned them together, making sure to keep the bottom sweep, while also making sure the waist measurement matched the waist on my bodice pattern.
The skirt had a pocket (YAY!) so I cut those out. Because I had a side seam, I had to adapt the wearer’s left side pocket to accommodate a zipper. Let me know if you are interested in tutorial on how to do that.
The bodice was lined with a white cotton cambric.
The bottom edge was finished with a baby hem. I had originally thought I would finish with a white bias facing like the Son de Flor dresses, but in the end I think I forgot.
This dress did require some fitting in the bust/neckline, AFTER I had it sewn together already and installed a hand picked zipper. Linen can really stretch out if it’s not stabilized. I opted for no interfacing so I should have seen it coming. Thankfully it only needed a dart on either side of the front armholes/neckline and the straps needed to be shortened, which meant I had to undo the neckline stitching but not the zip. Whew! That was close.
I’m super happy with how it turned out. I got the best complement from my friend Chang (on Instagram where you can see it in action) who said “ This is simultaneously modern, vintage, renfaire, and cottagecore. I love it so much 😍”. Exactly what I was going for.
Until Next Time, Happy Sewing!
xo
Jennifer
