Cashmerette Roseclair dress
In January Sewing.patternreview.com had a print mixing contest. Participants were asked to use a minimum of two different fabrics with prints, the amount of each was up to us. As long as the prints were the focus we could also add solid colours.
Dolce and Gabbana 2021 spring collection
I wanted to make a maxi dress as this would give me a larger canvas to work with mixing 7 geometric prints and 2 solids. My inspiration for this dress was the Dolce and Gabbana 2021 spring collection. I chose the Roseclair dress by Cashmerette because it is a tiered wrap maxi dress designed for curves and came with the option of a G cup bust.
Roseclair dress design
Design board with fabric swatches
Cashmerette - Roseclair Dress - 1106
Bask in the summer breeze with the Roseclair Dress, a gorgeous floaty woven wrap dress that’s designed for curves! Forget about gaping with Cashmerette’s three cup sizes from C-H, which mean you can enjoy your day without worrying about accidental flashing.
This on-trend piece has three customizable views: View A is an ankle-length three-tiered skirt with bishop sleeves and large angled cuffs, View B is a knee-length full skirt with short sleeves, and View C is a knee-length full skirt with on-trend puff sleeves. Prefer to wear tops? No problem! Simply sew View A with just the top skirt tier and you’ll have a beautiful peplum top.
Whether you sew your Roseclair in a lightweight linen, rayon, cotton or show-stopping silk, you’ll have a fabulous curve-friendly fit in a style that’s uniquely you.
Pattern Sizing:
12 to 32, in three cup sizes (C/D, E/F, G/H); Includes 40-62” bust and 42-62” hip.
This pattern is also available in sizes 0-16 (sold separately). PDF or paper
I made View A in size 18 with the G cup bust.
This on-trend piece has three customizable views: View A is an ankle-length three-tiered skirt with bishop sleeves and large angled cuffs, View B is a knee-length full skirt with short sleeves, and View C is a knee-length full skirt with on-trend puff sleeves. Prefer to wear tops? No problem! Simply sew View A with just the top skirt tier and you’ll have a beautiful peplum top.
Whether you sew your Roseclair in a lightweight linen, rayon, cotton or show-stopping silk, you’ll have a fabulous curve-friendly fit in a style that’s uniquely you.
Pattern Sizing:
12 to 32, in three cup sizes (C/D, E/F, G/H); Includes 40-62” bust and 42-62” hip.
This pattern is also available in sizes 0-16 (sold separately). PDF or paper
I made View A in size 18 with the G cup bust.
I used my iPad and an App called 'Pret'a'template' to design the look of the dress and try out the placement of the fabric prints. This was especially helpful on the bodice where the main focus is.
FABRIC
From my stash
- A geometric crepe I picked up at a second hand store closing down sale. The other fabric selection are based on the colours from this fabric. - Black georgette with a textured embroidered ivory spot, the same fabric in a red with black spot. Both from Spotlight on clearance a couple of years ago.
- Snake print georgette and a cheetah print with textured rectangles with a woven lurex thread. I chose these because they were both grey/blue based prints with a smaller print design to add design contrast to the other bolder prints. I backed these fabrics with white georgette as they were both sheer.
- A solid peach and a solid blue, both in light weight georgette that needed backing with the white georgette.
Purchased for this dress
- I bought some black and white stripe georgette from Spotlight because I wanted a bold stripe on the front bodice.
- I also found a black and white chevron dress at the Op shop which I thought would compliment the solid stripe and add more directionality.
- White heavy weight georgette for lining, from DK Fabrics.
All the printed fabrics are geometrical in design. Even the snakeskin has a repeat pattern that gives it a vertical appearance. To balance all the patterns I added the other two solid colours pale peach and blue, that were in the geometric crepe to tie the whole dress together. I didn't add more red because I was using the red and black spot georgette and I didn't want more red to overwhelm the dress. Red is not my favourite colour.
Fit changes
I fitted the size 18 bodice with a toile first. The only change I made to the fit was to add 2 inches in extra width at the bottom of the centre back and then 3" from the neckline I tapered the amount down to 1/2" at the neck. I did forget to add this addition to the top tier of the back skirt pattern piece so when I constructed my dress I had to add a V insert to the centre back skirt, which I pattern matched so you can't see it!
I fitted the size 18 bodice with a toile first. The only change I made to the fit was to add 2 inches in extra width at the bottom of the centre back and then 3" from the neckline I tapered the amount down to 1/2" at the neck. I did forget to add this addition to the top tier of the back skirt pattern piece so when I constructed my dress I had to add a V insert to the centre back skirt, which I pattern matched so you can't see it!
Pattern matched the blue in the geometric print on the inserted centre back panel
Design Changes
To create the patchwork skirt I used the skirt pattern pieces as a base to build my panels on. I traced the skirt pieces onto pattern paper. I pinned the paper skirt pieces at the side seams to make one long piece for the middle and then one for the bottom tier. Each tier represented one half of the finished skirt and I could build my patchwork fabric directly over the paper until I had assembled enough. I didn't worry about the seams that would normally be in the skirt tiers because their placement was designed for the best result using just one fabric in a solid or print.BODICE
For the bodice I chose my 3 favourite fabrics. I used the white heavy weight georgette to back the fronts and backs. I cut the bodice from my print fabric then laid the pieces onto the white georgette. I cut each piece out then basted the two layers together and sewed in the darts.
The sleeves are not lined.
For the bodice I chose my 3 favourite fabrics. I used the white heavy weight georgette to back the fronts and backs. I cut the bodice from my print fabric then laid the pieces onto the white georgette. I cut each piece out then basted the two layers together and sewed in the darts.
The sleeves are not lined.
Lining the front bodice with white georgette
Marking the dart placement
SKIRT
The skirt for view A is made up of 3 tiers. The top tier is curved but not gathered. The second tier is made up of 5 pieces of fabric cut into rectangles and sewn into a long piece. This is gathered and sewn to the top tier.
The bottom tier is slightly wider than the middle tier, it is made from 6 rectangles sewn together, gathered and sewn to the hem of the middle tier.
The skirt for view A is made up of 3 tiers. The top tier is curved but not gathered. The second tier is made up of 5 pieces of fabric cut into rectangles and sewn into a long piece. This is gathered and sewn to the top tier.
The bottom tier is slightly wider than the middle tier, it is made from 6 rectangles sewn together, gathered and sewn to the hem of the middle tier.
Skirt top tier is basically a bask that the middle tier is gathered too.
On the top tier I cut the front and back skirt pieces from the heavy weight white georgette and then added the print fabric on top. I tried to keep the grainline accurate when adding fabrics so the seams joining the patchwork together are angled like the side seams of the tier.
Middle tier skirt
I cut 2 strips from each of my fabrics, 3" wider than the depth of the gathered tiers. I worked out which way the wrap wraps around the body and started laying out fabric at that end that is on top when the dress is fastened closed.
Because the middle and bottom tiers are both gathered to the one above it was hard to guesstimate where the blocks of fabric would sit exactly. I wanted the fabric prints to be evenly spaced and not have the same fabric sitting above on the next tier in the same place.
I built the middle tier by cutting pieces off my wide fabric strips and laying them right side up onto the paper pattern pieces. I backed the sheer fabrics with the white and overlocked the pieces together. In some places I inserted a patchwork panel made with 2 or 3 fabrics sewn into a strip then inserted between blocks of other fabrics. I varied the widths of the fabrics and kept the red spot down to 1 or 2 rows of spot only.
To gather the middle tier I sewed my gathering stitches, pulled the fabric up, pinned and sewed it to the top skirt.
Version 1 of the skirt bottom tier.
I repeated this process for the bottom tier except I didn't sew it on to the middle tier yet. I took some photos from above with the skirt laid out on the floor. From this perspective it was easier to see the placement of the prints and their proximity to each other. I could squint a bit and focus on the red for instance and see if it was evenly spaced or not. This showed me that there was too much grey and peach in the bottom left side and no spot or geometric fabric. While on the other end there was too much geometric fabric.
So I had gotten the fabric blocking on the middle tier right but had to rearrange some of the fabrics on the bottom tier after I had sewn them together. You can see the before and after of the bottom tier layout in the photos. I unpicked all the gathering stitches on the top edge. I cut out the fabric that clashed and moved section around. I also ended up adding another metre to the length of the bottom tier making it 5.2m long. I did this because when I first gathered up the original bottom tier and pinned it to the middle I wanted more fullness in it. So when I rearranged the fabrics I just added more to the left most end.
So I had gotten the fabric blocking on the middle tier right but had to rearrange some of the fabrics on the bottom tier after I had sewn them together. You can see the before and after of the bottom tier layout in the photos. I unpicked all the gathering stitches on the top edge. I cut out the fabric that clashed and moved section around. I also ended up adding another metre to the length of the bottom tier making it 5.2m long. I did this because when I first gathered up the original bottom tier and pinned it to the middle I wanted more fullness in it. So when I rearranged the fabrics I just added more to the left most end.
Inside of the dress, all the edges are overlocked then seams straight stitched together
I repeated this process for the bottom tier except I didn't sew it on to the middle tier yet. I took some photos from above with the skirt laid out on the floor. From this perspective it was easier to see the placement of the prints and their proximity to each other. I could squint a bit and focus on the red for instance and see if it was evenly spaced or not. This showed me that there was too much grey and peach in the bottom left side and no spot or geometric fabric. While on the other end there was too much geometric fabric.
Adding the binding to the neckline
The dress is secured in place with a tie on the inside left and another tie on the outside right.
I deviated from the instructions by sewing my black neck binding on as a feature which really defined the wrap shape over the bust. Instead of creating the side ties used to hold the dress closed at the side seams of the bodice I added decorative ties instead. I used the halter neck from the chevron dress. This dress had a feature halter neck that tied at the back with long pointed ties. I unpicked the neck and separated the tie at the centre front seam into two pieces which happened to be the perfect length for purpose. I had to slightly narrow the end of one these tie pieces so it would fit at the end of the bodice front.
Sewing the side tie to the bodice edge
right side of the tie
Binding sewn to the wrong side of the tie to neaten the end
Right side of tie
The dress was very easy to construct, had I just made it in one fabric it would have gone together reasonably fast. The fit on a full bust is great, it is very swishy and drapes beautifully.
