Crystal's Eve Dress

You know when you find the perfect fabric for the perfect pattern? 

Well, I think I've done just that. The moment I saw this beautiful viscose crepe from Fabric Godmother's own collection, I instantly thought of the Sew Over It Eve dress! It reminds me very much of a sample Lisa Comfort wears in the Eve photos on her website except hers is a pink floral on a white background. 

The Eve dress is a woven wrap dress with gathered front yokes that can be made with a high/low hem or a straight hem and then flutter sleeves or 3/4 length sleeves. 

I have made this pattern twice before, my first was a standard version in a florenza crepe from Lady McElroy and my second was a floor length ball gown version in a beaded and embroidered dusky pink fabric from The Textile Centre.  Very different looks. That's the beauty of sewing - one pattern can produce totally different garments based on the fabric choice alone! 

Like before, I made the straight size 12 and opted for the high low hem and the flutter sleeves. I also made a few pattern tweaks. Firstly, I omitted the seam allowance in the back bodice piece and cut that on the fold rather than as a pair. I'm not sure why you would need a centre back seam in this pattern? Secondly, I used my 3 thread overlock stitch on my overlocker for the hems on both the sleeves and the skirt. This is a lovely way to finish off drapey fabric hems. 

The fabric is beautiful but was a bit slippery to cut out. It pressed very well however and was easy to sew.

The pattern instructions are clear and concise. It's a relatively easy sew. The only thing that might be a bit tricky is adding the stay tape to the whole neckline without it stretching out. Mine stretched out! I used 5mm stay tape but in hindsight should have used a 10mm width to provide a nicer neckline finish. There is a chart that tells you how much stay tape to cut out. I had to add 3 inches to mine! I didn't cut out the stay tape before I pinned it though as I remember doing that with my previous versions and the stay tape was too short (neckline had stretched). In order to rectify the stretched neckline, I simply took some fabric out of the bottom of the bodice where it meets the waist ties and no one would know any better. 

Would I make it again? Yes! It's a beautiful floaty dress that would be perfect for any occasion. It's swishy and swirly and very feminine. Everything that I love in a dress. 

Next time round, I will try harder to not stretch out the neckline (4th time lucky?!). I will also make the waist tie hole in the bodice a little smaller as although it's the perfect size for it, when the ties are used, they tend to roll/fold over making them almost half the size of the hole making the hole appear like a fault in the dress.

I thoroughly enjoyed this make and definitely recommend it!