Eva in the Pink

This is the Eva dress from Your Style Rocks, which is a free pattern when you register on their website. The pieces are all cut out on the flat, there are no cuts on the fold here! I did however find it a tight fit. I had enough fabric, according to the pattern requirements, but had to play around with the placement to get the dress cut out. At least I’d access to a large format printer so I didn’t have to join the dots with the pattern pieces.

The instructions are very brief. There are few images – I think just two to show you how to do the front draped piece, but apart from that, there are none. The pattern recommends adding a bias cut piece of interfacing to the shoulder seams and back neck. It seems very odd to add a bias strip with a knit fabric, so I’ve used knit interfacing on the neck and added cotton tape to the shoulder seams.

The instructions for the back neck are very confusing. I understood that the back neck facing was meant to be folded in half and attached to the bodice and then stitched to the inside. This was where I found my fabric choice was not the best choice. I couldn’t stitch the facing to the inside as it was too thick, so I attached it and left it on the outside. I did have to slightly trim the sleeves to fit having done this.

The seams are all double stitched. The sleeves I hemmed using the machine, but I hemmed the skirt by hand. The front draped piece is double thickness. It has a “lining” which ensures the draped piece keeps it’s shape. This is a nice touch and I like it.

I also really like the pleat on the back. This really adds definition to the back of the dress and adds a lot of shape. It’s easy to sew, the back is pleated across and stitched by hand.

The details
Fabric:  Raspberry coloured ponte knit (double knit).
Notions:   Thread, interfacing for the neckline and tape for the shoulder seams.
Pattern:  Your Style Rocks Eva dress
Changes made:  None as far as I know, unless the back of the neck, but this was due to the lack of instructions.
Recommend?  The dress looks like it does on the tin, which is certainly a good thing in my book, but I would recommend something other than ponte. The knit is great in some ways because it has so much more structure, but for the draping on this dress, it doesn’t really work. The cowl neck just seems to fold to one side unfortunately. It is quick to make though.

For more check out my blog post.

Thought you might like this outtake too 🙂