Papercut Patterns / Summer Sway Dress

Happy July everyone! I can’t believe we’re into the second half of the year already, time flys! The weather has been particularly nice around these parts and the temperatures pretty high, so you know what this means: more pretty dresses!! It might sounds boring, but I’ve sewn yet again another Papercut pattern, a summer version of the Sway Dress.
As with my winter Sway, I’ve used a fabric with a good drape, but quite substantial as well. This grey material is a silk and linen blend, which I casually happened to buy in other two colors as well. It really is a yummy fabric – extremely soft, easy to sew and cool to wear. Basically it’s perfect for the season. I had just 1.5m, barely enough to for the short version of the dress.

I’ve used the same pattern pieces as for my previous Sway, without further adjustments – basically I traced in between S and XS for the upper body, going down to a XXS for the hips. The forward shoulders adjustment determined which way the dress has to be worn and I’ve decided to have the V at the back, again.

I’ve slightly reduced the hem circumference and also eliminated the pockets. Naturally, as I wanted to sew this dress so badly that I completely forgot to raise the armholes – they’re a bit too large and I need to change the pattern for the next time I make it.
As I said, I didn’t have much fabric, so I had to cut the facings out of something else – I tried several color pairings, but in the end I’ve gone with black.

I’ve serged all the seam allowances and of course did a rolled hem again. It’s amazing how quickly you can hem a pretty big curved hem as this one using the overlocker. I’m so happy with that machine, it really makes a difference when you want to be fast, neat and professional at the same time.

I really like the Sway Dress – probably most people think is just a huge tent, but I find it extremely cute and I consider it a big canvas allowing you to play with awesome bold, classic or textured fabrics which might be otherwise lost in more complex patterns. It is also very comfortable and easy to dress up or down with the right accessories. This shade of gray goes with everything – I love it paired with navy, but it’s also great with gold.

That’s from here, have a great weekend everyone!