High street hack: Tied Inari in merino knit

Just a quick one today. I saw this dress in All Saints yesterday for £98, came home and made myself one for precisely zero in a couple of hours. And people ask why we sew?! :)

As soon as I saw the dress in the store, I thought ‘Inari with ties!’, so that’s the base pattern I used. All I changed was to scoop out the neckline a bit and add the ties.

To do that I basically completed the entire dress, made my ties (2″ strips sewn into a tube) and pinned them in place while wearing the dress. I found I preferred them set into the front of the dress rather than the side seams, so I sewed them on using a small zigzag, directly over the raw edge of the tie. The zigzagging gets concealed when the ties are done up so it looks quite neat.

I used a gorgeous merino jersey knit which The Fabric Store kindly sent me to try out. It’s the 200gsm merino in charcoal specifically. This knit is just amazing to work with – it’s stable, loves both the overlocker and sewing machine, and takes very well to a steamy press. It gives a beautiful luxurious sheen and drape to the final garment as well. You would not find knit of this quality in a £100 high street dress, put it that way!

The ties lend themselves to being arranged a few other ways too…

I’m reaching more for trousers than dresses lately in these awkward in-between days where I want to ditch the black tights but it’s not quite bare-leg temperatures yet, but I can’t wait to wear this with sandals when spring properly kicks off.

23 thoughts on “High street hack: Tied Inari in merino knit

  1. Emma Gibney

    Definitely better than the original shop bought one. Great inspiration, I’ll have to steal the idea and add to my sewing queue!

  2. Bernie

    Hi Katie, this is really cool. It looks much looser on you then on the pattern photo, did you go up a size or is it really that loose? thanks, Bernie

    1. Katie Post author

      Hi Bernie – yes, I sized up when I originally cut the Inari because I preferred a looser fit on the hips, and I did an FBA which gave a little extra ease too.

    1. Katie Post author

      Yes the original was a tencel i think, which would be rather nice too, but the knit makes it even drapier and more comfy.

    1. Katie Post author

      Hi Raye – the Inari pattern includes instructions for this neckband as it can be made with knits or wovens. This is a simply folded band sewn right sides together to the neckline then topstitched in place.

  3. Susan

    Hi, The dress looks great. I love the fabric. Do you have any links or would you be able to provide instructions on how you attached the ties to the front of the dress.
    I had a dress a sewed in the nineties with ties in the side seams but I’m not sure how to sew ties on the front of a dress like that.
    Thank you

  4. Allys

    Your dress looks great. I would love to sew with this gorgeous merino wool jersey, especially having bought Jennifer Lauren’s new Juniper cardigan pattern. However, the cost of postage plus the 20% vat I would have to pay (on the cost of both the fabric and postage) makes it impossible. There would also be bank charges for currency exchange. If an enterprising wholesaler ever imports this into the UK, I will be their first customer.

    1. Katie Post author

      Yes, the customs charges I got hit with on a previous order were really high, but I’ve not ever found such nice knits in the UK so it was almost worth it. If you ever happen to be in Los Angeles they have a store there too!

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