Sometimes you see a fabric that you just HAVE to sew with.  That’s how I felt when I spotted this linen/viscose blend at The Cloth Shop, Ivanhoe shortly before Christmas.  And if the comments on Instagram when I posted this photo were anything to go by, I wasn’t the only one that loved it!

Yes, it’s the fabric on the top of the pile in the photo. I’ve already blogged what the other three fabrics became – a tunic for Mum from the printed viscose, and Infinity scarves (with secret pocket) from the two spotted flannels. When I bought the linen/viscose, I was pretty sure what I wanted to sew from it – a Tessuti Yuki dress. And in the end, I wore it for Christmas day celebrations.

The Yuki dress pattern was released in March 2017 (the introductory blog post is here) and I pretty much dismissed it at the time, mainly because I saw it as a ‘winter’ pattern, and already owned a Vogue pattern with a cowl neckline with similar lines. However, I reconsidered it when browsing for a ‘sack’ dress pattern that I hadn’t used before. I liked the angled side seams, and the collar isn’t a regular cowl. So into my shopping cart it went, and was promptly printed, taped and cut out. I chose to sew size Medium, one size smaller than the Large my bust measurement would have put me in.

In retrospect, I have no idea why I had thought this was a ‘winter’ pattern – maybe because Tessuti had shown their sample in black, layered over a long-sleeved top! The fabric recommendations are for the main dress in drapey fabrics with great body eg. wool crepe, rayon/triacetate crepe, crepe blends, viscose, acetate, heavy silk satin, linen etc, with the collar and tie done in a contrast such as viscose georgette, silk crepe de chine, double georgette etc. Clearly I was way off base in my original thoughts about the pattern! It’s perfect for summer!

Now, I have to say that this is not your average ‘sack’ dress. The pattern website describes it as follows: This loose fitting, knee length, pull-over tunic dress features extended shoulders, tapered hemline, side pockets and a funnel style collar with drawstring tie. The contrast collar drapes around the neck like a soft cowl. The Yuki Dress can be worn on its own or layered over a fitted top, make it the perfect trans-seasonal wardrobe piece.

The line drawings really do say it all. The side seams (which have in-seam pockets) angle toward the tapered hem (a style that always works well on my shape), and take note of the neckline shape with it’s rounded V at the centre front and centre back. Very nice, a bit of a departure from the usual, yet easy to sew.

I topstitched around the seam where the cowl-like collar is attached to the main dress to provide a bit more support and structure. The collar is a single layer, which means that the wrong side of the fabric can show when it’s being worn, so take that into consideration. The tie and the casing for the tie are very easily sewn.

I shortened the pattern pieces at the shorten/lengthen here lines, removing the entire shaded area (about two inches) from the length. I am 158cm tall, and the finished dress now hits me pretty much right on the knee. You need to make length alterations before cutting out, as the dress silhouette is tapered.

I was incredibly comfortable wearing this dress on a hot summer day.  It felt celebratory and fun, while being easy to wear.  My eyes are now open to the many possibilities of this pattern; you’ll definitely see it used again at some stage.