Sew Over It Salma Dress(es and top!)

Today I'm here to talk to you about a relatively new sewing pattern - the Sew Over It Salma dress. It was released at the start of the year and I've already made three versions so it's probably not hard for you to guess that I'm a bit of a fan!

Salma is a classic jersey shift dress that offers a few different options to make it a bit more exciting. You can choose from a round neck, V-neck or roll neck, as well as a standard or puff sleeve in two different lengths. The pattern has above-the-knee or knee length views. It's available in sizes from a 31" to 57" bust.

The first version of Salma that I made was actually a top rather than a dress. I made this as a wearable (thankfully very wearable!) toile using some ponte roma that I had left over from making a dress a couple of years ago. For this version I used the V-neck and standard sleeve options. To make a top instead of a dress, I very simply just measured how long I wanted the top to be and cut the pattern at that length - happily it turned out that I had just enough fabric for the length I wanted.

I really like how the top turned out and the fit seemed good, so I went on the lookout for some fabric for a dress version.

I found this grey floral sweatshirting on the Sew Over It website. It's a bit of a different choice for me - the fabric is available in a blue colourway too, which would be my default option, but I felt like stepping outside the box a bit. 

Unfortunately I'm not sure that was the wisest choice! The fabric is lovely in itself and super soft, but the finished dress just doesn't feel quite me. It's just not quite vibrant enough! I'll definitely still wear it though - since taking these photos I've tried pairing it with a pink cardi, which really helps to lift it a bit, and I think if I layer it over a roll neck top that could be good too. I love the shape of the dress (I used the V-neck and standard sleeve again for this one) though so decided that I might need another version that's more me!

Now, you definitely couldn't accuse this fabric of not being vibrant enough! It's a lovely French terry that I got from Backstitch (side note - I've ordered from Backstitch a few times over the last year and have been really impressed with their customer service. My orders have always arrived super quickly even when everything else was delayed due to the pandemic). For this version I used the round neck and standard sleeve. I love how this one turned out (hence most of the photos I'm sharing being of this one!) and I know I'll wear it a lot.

The Salma dress is really simple to sew - in terms of construction, it's pretty much just a lengthened t-shirt with the added benefit of bust darts and side seam shaping to give the dress a lovely silhouette. It's also designed for medium to heavy weight knits such as ponte roma, sweathshirting and French terry that tend to be quite stable and easy to handle in comparison with some jerseys. 

As with all Sew Over It patterns that I've made, the instructions are really detailed and easy to follow. I particularly like the method that they use for sewing the neck band on the V-neck option, and I think it helps to get a neater finish than I've sometimes got when sewing V-necks on other patterns.

I made a straight size 14 as recommended for my measurements, and I think the fit is good. It's fitted enough to have shape, without being at all tight anywhere. The only change I made was to lengthen the pattern by an inch above the waistline, which is very standard for me. For both my dress versions, I used the knee length option - as you can see, it's slightly above knee length on me (I'm about 5'9").

I think the Salma is a really versatile pattern - it's the kind of dress that can be really casual when made in colourful patterned fabrics like mine, but could also look smart if you made it in a solid colour ponte roma. And of course, being a knit dress, its super comfy - definite secret pyjamas! Three versions are probably enough for me for now, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for nice fabric for possible future versions!

Simplicity 1418 dress

This weekend just gone my brother got married. An occasion like that demands a new dress, don't you think? And obviously I had to make that dress. I knew I wanted to stick with my favoured fit and flare silhouette, but with some sort of feature to stand out from the dresses I wear on a daily basis. I looked through my pattern stash and eventually settled on Simplicity 1418.

This is a pattern that I got free with a magazine at some point and to be honest I'd forgotten I even owned it, but it was just what I wanted for this project. Simplicity 1418 is one of the Pattern Runway series, which has various bodice options and a pleated skirt. I decided to omit the back inserts and shoulder straps, and use the off-the-shoulder sleeves.

I made a toile of the bodice using a size 16 at the bust and grading to an 18 at the waist, and making my standard adjustment of adding an inch to the length. The fit was good, apart from when it came to the sleeves - they were huge! I took a large wedge out of the middle of the sleeve piece, which greatly improved things but there was still a bit of extra room so I slimmed them down again. I think in the end I took around 3 inches out of the sleeve, and adjusted the elastic and casing that help hold the sleeve in place by the same amount.

That meant I was ready to move on to creating the actual dress. I considered a whole range of fabric options, but the winner in the end was this lovely viscose and linen mix from Sew La Di Da. It's a really gorgeous fabric, and I think the large scale print helps to make it stand out from my everyday dresses.

It is quite a thin fabric so I decided to underline everything with white cotton lawn. I'm really happy I made that choice - not only does it ensure that the fabric is opaque, it also makes the colours look more vivid.

I cut everything out in a single layer to make it easier to get the print placement right. I wanted to make sure I had one of the groups of 3 poppies in the centre of the bodice, and then carry that on down through the skirt. The front bodice also has princess seams, and I matched the pattern up as closely as possible between the centre front and side front sections. I'm glad I put in the effort to do that - I think the bodice could have ended up looking a bit of a mess with this print otherwise.

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The sewing process was all straightforward and the instructions were easy to follow. I decided to line the bodice instead of using the facings. I used the facings on my toile and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, but I just prefer the clean finish of a lined bodice, especially for a dress like this. I also added 2 inches to the length of the skirt pieces just to make sure that it would be a nice elegant length.

To top it all off, I used some of the remnants of the fabric to make the simple flowers that you can hopefully just about see in my hair in these photos. The benefit of making your own outfit is that it's easy to make sure your accessories match because you can just use the same fabric!

 I really enjoyed wearing this dress - I was slightly concerned that the off-the-shoulder sleeves would annoy me, but they didn't at all. I think having the elastic underneath the sleeves really helps them to stay in place and stops the bodice from slipping. It's not going to be one of my most worn dresses because it is a bit special, but it is definitely one of my favourites. Now I just need someone else to get married so that I can wear it again!