I’ve found a cure for low winter sewjo: buy a shiny new instant-gratification frock pattern, pick your prettiest stash fabric, and bash out a cute and comfy dress!
This is the I Am Patterns Cassiopée dress. They’re a fairly new French pattern company and I’ve been admiring their catalogue of girlish babydoll silhouettes with unique detailing (and really nice styling for the sample photos!). Yes, it’s quite a simple shape, but I don’t have a woven raglan bodice so thought it was worth a purchase.
It’s a neat 25-page PDF, very easy to assemble, with 3/8″ seam allowances included. Instructions, supplied in French and English, are brief but concise. I didn’t use them on such a simple pattern. I would have liked a few more notches included on the raglan sleeve pieces to help me join them to the bodice, but they’re easy enough to add myself.
I cut a size 40, a bit below my measurements as I figured there’d be plenty of ease and I didn’t want the neckline falling off my shoulders. The only fit alterations I made were to take a little wedge out of the centre back (a typical small-shoulder/narrow-back adjustment for me) and 3″ off the skirt length – oh, and the skirt is less full because I ran out of fabric!
I love how deep the kimono raglan sleeves fall – almost down to the waistline, batwing-style – however I was expecting them to be 3/4 length like the pattern sample but they are practically full length. Next time I’ll take a few inches off these too as I’m wearing them rolled up anyway.
The fabric is a woven viscose I scooped a while ago from the UK Stof and Stil website. I’m not usually the florals type but fell for this unusually sparse graphic take on them, and the jewel colours are super pretty. It creases like all viscoses do, but it’s really lovely quality and was great to work with. I’ll be buying more from them! (nb, Stof and Stil also have some really nice-looking and cheap sewing patterns…)
I have visions of a snuggly sweatshirt knit version of the Cassiopée dress next – maybe one of Stof and Stil‘s again!
YES I need to sew one asap! Loving your fabric choice :–)
I too love the new I AM Patterns! I promptly ordered 2 printed patterns but not this dress. I just don’t have the right shape for this dress :) I’m grateful for your guidance however and what to watch for in the patterns such as notches, instructions, length etc. Beautiful dress! I’m sure you’ll make many more and it would work in all sorts of fabrics from very casual knits to silk to wool :)
What did you get? I have my eye on the cape jacket and the lovely deep v wrapped sweater next.
Great combo of pattern to fabric, looks really cute on you. You’ve really got your style nailed down!
Thanks Sarah!
Oh it’s lovely! I really like those deep raglan armholes and that print is dreamy.
I can see you in it!
Love the dress! Perfect fabric choice too.
Fabulous! Such nice fabric and cut.
I wonder if you’d be up for sharing more info on those narrow-shoulder/back adjustments. I have the same problem but I’ve never been sure how to fix it well. And google searching throws up all kinds of tutorials and vids which have just left me feeling a bit confused!
I use a variation on this nearly every time and it’s incredibly simple! https://gingermakes.com/2013/09/06/by-hand-london-anna-dress-narrow-shoulder-adjustment
What a great pattern to showcase such beautiful fabric! It looks really lovely on you!
Thanks! I do wish I hadn’t cut some flowers off through the waistline though :/
Thanks for the heads up on this pattern company – I’ve been looking for patterns that resemble what I want to buy in RTW for a long time, without success, until now. Your dress turned out really well!
They are quite RTW in style, I often find that patterns don’t have the ease I like compared to clothes in stores, but this came up good.