Hello ladies,
It’s been a few weeks since I last published an article, but I’ve been thinking a lot about you, and I’m preparing some lovely little ideas for the new season that I’m about to share with you.
Today, a quick look at this free downloadable PDF pattern from République du Chiffon, the Caroline dress. I made it several months ago. I wanted a versatile mini dress, wearable both at the office when I don’t have any appointments, or on the weekend in a casual mode. A dress that can be worn with ballet flats, pumps, derbies, and in summer with flat or heeled sandals.
To make this dress, I needed a basic pattern: The Caroline dress from RDC. Here’s how I modified it:
For the top, I shortened the top part of the pattern to have a high waist. I simply cut it straight at my navel (unlike the original dropped waist, V-cut).
For the skirt, it’s simply a rectangle. I wanted it slightly gathered, so I got the measurements as follows:
Skirt length: desired length (measuring from the navel).
Skirt width: if X = Circumference of the bottom of the top (top closed), I did X times 1.5 to get my width – Then I gathered this obtained width to reduce it to X.
(If you want it slightly more gathered, multiply by 2 instead of 1.5).
I also added fringes.
For the Fringes: This was the first thing I attached after cutting out the pattern pieces. With the front pieces of the top laid flat, I first drew the oblique lines using a ruler. Then, I sewed the fringe strip with a straight stitch.
Oh, one last thing: I didn’t put snap fasteners because I couldn’t find them anymore. So, after checking that my head fit through the opening, I simply hand-stitched invisible stitches to close the front.
Peach skin fabric from Bennytex.
There you go! Now you have everything you need to make this simple dress with all the variations it inspires you, for the beautiful days ahead!
Hello ladies,
It’s been a while now that I have not published. However I have had you on my mind, thinking of all the good ideas I can come to you with for the beautiful new season that is arriving.
Today I’m talking about the Caroline dress, a Free pdf pattern from République du Chiffon. I wanted a little ample dress that I could wear at work (when no meeting scheduled with a client) or at play (when the play is not too rough!). A dress that I can wear with fats or heals.
So to make this variation of the Caroline pattern here is what I did:
The bodice: I shortened the length of the bodice to my navel, with a straight cut.
The skirt:it’s a simple rectangle that I measured according to the length and fullness I desired.
—>>> Skirt length: just the desired length measuring from your navel down.
—>>> Skirt width: if X=Circumference of the top bottom (measured when top is closed), I did X times 1,5. (If you want your skirt to be a little more gathered you might want to multiply X by 2 instead of 1,5).
The fringe: sewing the fringe on the fronts was the first step after cutting out the pattern pieces. With the front pieces laying flat and perfectly parallel, I used a ruler to draw 2 diagonal lines on each front piece.
One last thing: I did not have any snap fasteners. So I just closed it with a solid invisible stitch.
Voilà! I hope this article has inspired you and given you even more simple ideas for the beautiful days ahead. 
