Pattern: Merchant and Mills Trapeze Dress. My mum bought me this pattern a couple of years ago, and I have to admit, I wasn’t too sure about the style on me. I usually like things to be fitted around my waist and to show either my shoulders or collarbone area. I decided to go for the sleeveless option. The neckline is very high, so I lowered that slightly when tracing my pattern.
Fabric: most versions I’ve seen on Instagram are made with medium weight, natural fabrics, so I decided to use the mint coloured cotton chambray from Fabrics Galore. When I was first ironing the fabric after washing I was quite worried because the creases were really difficult to get out, but once I started sewing it didn’t seem too bad, and it was lovely to sew with. Also, I noticed there was a small catch in the fabric. I had meant to avoid this when cutting out, but as it sat in my stash so long I forgot, and now I have a catch right in the middle front of the dress..
Lessons learnt:
1. Patterns can be adjusted! I was intimidated at the thought of making adjustments to the pattern, I think that’s why it took me so long to get round to making this dress. But it was really simple! I should probably be a bit more precise about it but my way worked fine as this is such a simple pattern. I just took the front pattern piece and drew a deeper neckline, also taking a bit of width out of the shoulder area. The pattern piece is on the fold, so it is automatically even on both sides. Next, I traced the new neckline onto the facing piece. And finally, I lined the front pattern piece up to the back piece, matching at the underarm, and stencilled the new shoulder line (I didn’t change the depth of the neckline at the back). Since I completed this dress I’ve listened to Love to Sew Podcast Episode 43: You Can Hack It. I love all episodes of this podcast, but this one was really fun. Helen and Caroline have some great resources linked from their show notes too, with lots of options for how to adjust patterns to better match your style (or just for the sake of a fun variation)
2. Try on a garment during the process to check fit. I was concerned I’d made a mistake with my measurements because my bust measurement put me in the smallest size according to the finished measurements, so I tried it on each step of the way and it was actually a great fit. By trying it on I realised that the neckline still felt too high, so I folded the front piece down the middle and scooped the neckline further, then used the piece I cut off to draw around for matching up the facing. I’m so much happier with the final neckline.
3. THE FACING. I’d noticed that a few blog posts on this pattern mentioned that the instructions for attaching the facing are unclear, and I’d never worked on a project where the facing covers the neck and arm holes. I had a look at the Merchant and Mills site to see if there was any additional guidance and couldn’t find anything, but it does say that the pattern was re-released with clarified instructions, so I contacted them to see if they’d be able to send me the clarifications. They sent me a sew along, which has some extra photos and a bit more description. Basically the instructions say to assemble the outer dress first, then assemble the facing pieces, then there is a complicated and very fiddly way of putting them together. I spent an evening pinning, repinning, stitching, unpicking… at the end of it I had somehow got the facing on one arm hole, but it was a real mess and I had no idea what I’d done and how to do it for the other arm hole. I was very disheartened, and wanted to give up on the project. That night, while sitting up with the baby, I came across this blog post by makesomething.ca (who made an absolutely beautiful version of the dress) which references this YouTube tutorial by Threads as an alternative method for attaching the facing. It meant the next evening I had to unpick the length of the side seams, but it was so worth it because it was so clear and easy to insert the facing with this method. It instantly made me want to plan my next version of the dress. I had a real buzz from learning a new technique, and it turned out so neat and tidy. I feel like it’s a technique i can use on other projects if I want to try a sleeveless hack (I’ve been thinking of trying this for the Tilly and the Buttons Megan dress).
4. Don’t give up – look for help online! After the first evening of trouble with the facing I wanted to walk away from this project – it’s very demoralising to think that this pattern is classed as a beginners pattern but I was struggling so badly with it. But there are so many helpful resources out there, and I found the method above that worked perfectly. It felt great to be able to resolve the problem, and completing the project gave me more confidence to take into my next project.
5. Pay a bit more for better fabrics. I still have a lot to learn about fabric types. I thought chambray was basically a lighter weight denim, and would be opaque, but this fabric is quite see-through. The facing is very visible on the front of the dress, and my underwear shows through a bit too. I’m not sure whether this is an issue with this fabric because it’s cheap (although £9 per metre doesn’t seem that cheap to me), or if chambray is often a bit see-through (I’d be really grateful to get some advice about this!). It’s tricky as a beginner buying fabrics online, not knowing what I’m spending my money on. I can’t afford to spend too much, especially since I’m not very experienced yet, but I don’t want to end up with cheap, unwearable garments. The other thing about the higher-end online fabric shops is that they tend to provide more detail about the fabric, so would mention if a fabric needs lining.
Thoughts on the pattern:
I can see why this pattern has been so popular, there are some beautiful versions out there. I think it drapes beautifully, in a really simple way, and lends itself well to pattern hacking and individualising (is that a word??).
The sleeved options are suitable for beginners, and it looks as though the issue I had with the facing has been resolved in the updated instructions by leaving the back seam open until after the facing has been inserted. I think I would still be inclined to insert the facing using the alternative method I found – it was just so quick and satisfying! I would say the sleeveless version is more suited to a confident beginner rather than a complete beginner.
Adjustments for future Trapeze Dresses:
1. Try a lighter weight fabric. I couldn’t find a list of recommended fabric types on the Merchant and Mills site before I started the project, so I went with one that seemed similar to most examples I found on Instagram. With further research I’ve found some lovely versions in lighter weight fabrics, so I’d consider giving this a go in future.
2. This dress would be a great way of showcasing a beautiful printed fabric.
3. I’m considering adding some embroidery to the top of this dress to try to mask the fact that you can see the facing through it. I think this would work well with the simple shape of the dress. I will probably also have to add embroidery to the area weigh the fault in the fabric.
4. I’m thinking I might be able to add a waist band / bow to cinch it in
5. There is an add-on pattern that’s available from Merchant and Mills for a button up back. I’ve found a tutorial from Guthrie and Ghani for adding a button placket, so I think I’ll give that a go rather than buying the additional pattern.
Project Life Pursuit 