The Somerset Swing Dress
Holy Moses Batman, I am in love.
The peeps over at Peppermint Magazine have done it again, releasing a “fa-mazing” (fabulous and amazing) collab with Jasmin Henzi, who is the designer behind Sewing Patterns by Masin.
This is a first for me, sewing a ‘Sewing Patterns by Masin’ pattern, but I am hooked. I now have my eye on her Heidi Pants pattern- coz I do love sewing up a good pair of pants.
There are so many design elements to this dress, it would be perfect for colour blocking, it has such a swoosh factor, and the whimsy back, phew, let's just say that this pattern release spun me into a hyperfocus. AND broke my blog writing dry spell.
As soon as I saw Peppermints IG post about their latest Autumn pattern, I knew , just new that was where my day was ending. The beginning and the middle of this day was taken up with a scenic bushwalk with my kiddos and friends, hence the afternoon of sewing. After the walk and the feels of serenity with the kids, I managed to stop in at an Officeworks to have my pattern printed. A0 printing be- a hella expensive, I printed 3 pages, and it came in at just under $20. This cost can be off putting- but heck- I am not sticky taping those A4 sheets together unless I absolutely, bloody well, must, and I really wanted to sew this pattern.
I can totally vouch that this pattern is completely worth it.
Ok, enough gushing. Let’s get to the deets. The pattern recommends a lightweight fabric, so I reached into my stash. If you’re wondering- yes, I have a large stash of fabric. Fabric ‘hoarding’ is a separate hobby to sewing. They overlap. I often purchase my fabrics when they are on sale, even if I don’t have a specific project in mind. I thrift and have handed me along fabric as well. I have sheets and doonas, tablecloths. All waiting patiently for that project that speaks to me.
If you follow me on IG, you will see that a lot of my fabric is from the Selvedge Society, Stanmore Sydney. Whilst I’ve never been to their brick-and-mortar store, a lot of my fabrics are from Jen and Effie- they have these amazing de-stash sales, and I find myself purchasing fabrics that I may not usually choose. And while this may seem chaotic and is more than a little impulsive, their fabric quality is amazing, and I am yet to be disappointed.
Coming back to the story, I reached into my stash and pulled out this check fabric, I am pretty sure it’s a silk modal. It’s soft, opaque- ish, and I had, maybe 3m of 110cm wide. Whichever way you look at it- silk content or not- it’s machine washable – (I know, because I washed it in my washing machine and packed it away) and it irons well on a low heat.
It was almost as if this fabric had been waiting its entire life to become the Somerset Swing Dress. There was enough fabric, it didn’t fight me at all, and it was such a smooth process, that I had to pinch myself.
The Somerset Swing Dress is made up of two dresses, the inner and the outer. The inner dress has two bust darts and allows a modicum of modesty when you’re out doing all the swirling. The dress stays up with a cord, I used same fabric for mine, but you can use ribbon or a contrasting cord and this is threaded through loops at the back. Now an interesting feature of this dress is that the interfacing, not a facing, but the interfacing is attached to the RIGHT side of the under dress- this is in turn hidden when the outer dress is attached to the under dress.
However- I can never guarantee that my iron on interfacing will stay to my fabric; I’m working with spotlight purchased Birch brand (IYKYK). I counteracted that design instruction by cutting out a facing, interfacing that, then attaching it as a fabric facing. I overlocked the outer edge and when I sewed it on, the sewn seam acted like stay stitching.
And that was about it. Oh, except that when you’re attaching the neck cord to the front and the back loops to the back of the under dress, you have to read the instructions carefully. I didn’t and I had to unpick. Blegh, but necessary. I sewed my loops and cord to the facing side of the underdress. That meant when I was attaching the outer dress to the under dress- there was no way for the loops to come through. These loops and cord need to be sewn onto the wrong side of the under dress. So note to all: read the instructions!
I just got myself confused. The instructions are spot on- I however, was rushing coz I was super excited.
Sizing:
I made the size F and kept the length of the size J for the outer dress.
My current measurements
Bust | 110cm |
Waist | 86cm |
Hip | 108cm |
Height | 169.5 |
Shop purchased bra size: | 14-16E |
Now if you’re wondering why this dress is currently styled like this, I may add that it was raining, 15c, which feels freezing given our recent sunny warm beach weather, and windy as heck.
I desperately wanted to wear it, even though my only destination was to the kids' grandparents place to make scones while I did, [insert shock horror here], paperwork stuff.
So yeah, this is me, rocking my new Sommerset Swing Dress. I styled it with a thrifted lace under dress shirt tunic thing, a pair of...yes you name it- thrifted jeans and a pair of Funkis clogs.
I can't wait to see all the Somerset Swings in action.
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