Why did I take so long to buy a Cashmerette pattern? Why? The Cashmerette blog is one of the things that inspired me to to take my first (and only, so far) sewing class. Let me just say, I wish I had bought one sooner. I have future plans for the Dartmouth pattern, but for now I have completed the Upton dress in View B, with the gored skirt, for our rehearsal dinner.
I scored this clearance Nate Berkus blue palm upholstery fabric. I’m glad the Upton is partially lined, because it is a bit scratchy. Let me warn you ahead of time, I did zero pattern matching which wouldn’t be terrible on it’s own, except I didn’t realize the palm leaves were directional until I was damn near finished. Oops! In my mind they were going in all different directions.
The sizes I cut were 24D in the bodice and 24 for the waist. The bodice was a little short on my chest, meaning it did not cover my boobs so I lengthened it about 2 inches. I cut the gored skirt pieces at size 28 and then graded in the very top of the waist to a 24 so the skirt would be a bit fuller.
The big alteration I made to this pattern was adding lined sleeves. Again, I just like sleeves and I really didn’t want to cover this pretty dress with a shrug or sweater. So I had to attach the sides before the instructions mentioned it. I pretty much followed the instructions from Professor Pincushion on YouTube to line the sleeve and attach it to a lined bodice. (She is terribly helpful, by the way.)
Hand-sewing the sleeve lining to the bodice lining took me through several episodes of GLOW on Netflix.
After that I followed the instructions, and I must be getting better at installing zips because I installed a 22″ invisible zip in one go!
Oops! I left a few basting stitches in when I took this photo.
So now that it is all together and finished it is pretty clear that the palms go in different directions. It actually doesn’t really bother me. It just bothers me that I didn’t notice sooner so I would have a choice in the matter! I have about 1/4 yard of leftover fabric.
One of the first things I noticed after trying on my Upton is that I have never purchased a dress that fits me this well. I have also never made a dress that fits me this well. It is really eye-opening to see what I thought fit well before I started to sewing and what I think fits well now. There are so many things I bought that “almost” fit.
In between finishing this dress we had to do some house chores and started replacing our rotting deck during the hottest week on record here! We are about halfway done. Whew! I hope you are at the pool right now because that’s where I would like to be!
That’s beautiful
Thank you so much! I cannot recommend this pattern enough!
What a fab print, and I love that you have perfectly matching shoes! If you hadn’t pointed out the directional nature of the print, I’m not sure I would have noticed it–I’m distracted by that lovely V-neck and what I assume are capacious pockets. :-) Congratulations on getting that much-coveted good fit. I know that I’ve bought so many almost-fitting garments that sometimes I wonder if I’d even know what good fit is!
Thank you! It’s just one of those things I never noticed before now. I have too many “almost fits.” The pockets are excellent! I have had these shoes for about a decade and I finally made the outfit to wear with them!
This is just such a beautiful dress, and I’m so glad you gave our patterns a go! Can’t wait to see what you make next 🙂
Thank you so much! I am really thrilled with the pattern!
Such a beautiful dress!
Thank you, kindly!
I would never have noticed the direction issue. It looks amazing on you!! 👍🏻👌
Haha! That’s a good thing then! I didn’t notice the direction either until I was finishing the skirt! Thank you!
Love the dress on you and really like the change in direction of print, but, completely understand that you would have preferred it to have been a choice.
Thank you! That’s exactly right, but I can pretend it was a choice if anyone asks!
Gorgeous dress! The sleeves are lovely, too. :)
Thank you! I am a fan of sleeves!
It’s a beautiful dress. Love the fabric.
Thanks so much! It just struck me and worked out!
This is sich a lovely made. As a plussize lady myself I really love it and admire the dress and how you look in it.
Thanks! I really appreciate that!
Is this not the most perfect pattern in the world?!!!! Love the dress & the smile it has given you.
How did you come up with a sleeve pattern? I would love to add sleeves to my next upton. Please tell.
Thank you! I will do a post with more detail on drafting my sleeves this month. I didn’t know so many folks would ask! In short, I literally follow the directions on Kyla Hislop’s blog illustration: http://kylahislop.tumblr.com/post/55505078583/sleeve-tutorial-i-posted-this-tutorial-to
Then I used a Professor Pincushion video tutorial to line the sleeves. I think I have a pretty good woven sleeve pattern piece now!
Gorgeous… and then there’s the dress. I’m wondering if you made a toile first ?
Haha, thanks! I did not, I made the lining of the bodice before I cut out my good fabric though. If the bodice lining had not fit, it would have become the toile. I cut the skirt in a 28 (I’m usually a 24) and then graded in the waist so there was no chance that it was not going to fit me.
This dress looks so amazing on you! I’ve been eyeing this pattern off for a while, and I think I’m finally convinced. Quick question though about the sleeves….did you leave the armscye as it’s drafted, or did you change the shape to accept a sleeve?
Thank you! It came together really quickly, I cannot recommend the pattern enough. Good question. I did not alter the armscye at all. I do generally have to trim excess off the sleeve curve a bit once it is attached, but that is about it.
Very pretty. I love the fabric. The leaves look great to me.
Thanks! I think I got pretty lucky with this fabric!
Beautiful dress! Love the pattern!
Thank you! I can’t recommend the Upton pattern enough!
Thankyou for sharing this lovely dress! I knew the Upton would look great with sleeves. Thankyou also for sharing the blog link for instructions. I prefer sleeves too.
You’re very welcome! Also, Cashmerette’s instagram mentioned that they are working on sleeve add ons later this year.
How amazing this dress looks on you, now that i’ve seen you added sleeves on your own you inspired me on making one too. It fits you perfectly and the direction on the print does not bother me at all, but I get what you mean. Now I wish the fashion fabric designeres were as creative as the designeres of the upholstery fabrics, when I visit the fabric distrinct here in Athens I always spent some time just adoring the upholstery fabrics!
Thank you! I really love how it turned out! This is the first time I have ventured over to the upholstery section, so now I may have to do it more often!
I like it! I didn’t even notice the direction of the leaves until you said something. Leaves go every which way, don’t they? Wow you did well on that zipper. Can’t even see it! Another great make for you!!!
Thank you very much! I am incredibly happy with this pattern!
A year later… thanks for leaving some info about the sleeves, they look great and I am a very pale person who lives in a land of sunburn (New Zealand) so I either need sleeves or constant cardigans!b
I hope it’s helpful! My options are either stay pale or get sunburned. There is no in between for me!