This dress started out terribly and ended up beautifully! Note that these are all ‘after’ photos.

The pattern is the Cris Wood Sews Parasol dress. It’s actually a set of instructions, with the pattern pieces drafted to your own measurements. This is where things went downhill.

Many of you who have been reading my blog for a long time know that my measurements tend to fluctuate quite a bit over the years. Lately they’ve been going up. So when I drafted the pattern pieces ‘to my measurements’ I added a bit extra for insurance. Take it from me – don’t do that. I ended up with a very large garment that was actually very frumpy and quite unwearable. I harumphed at myself, and went to bed.

The next morning I decided that I could fix things. I hand-stitched the front V neckline to make it another couple of inches higher, then raised the bodice seam two inches by taking a large fold through the bodice at the seamline and re-stitching the bodice to the skirt. Then I added some shaping to the side seams to bring them in, stopping stitching just above the seam joining the bodice to the skirt. This did the trick!

I wore this dress to my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday party back in February, and felt terrific in it. The back V-neckline stops just above my bra, and I love the large patch pockets on the front. Did you notice how well I managed to pattern match them?  The fabric is cupro, bought on clearance from Darn Cheap Fabrics a few years ago. It’s not terribly easy to sew with – definitely use a fresh sharp needle – but it’s great to wear! I still have some left for another garment, hooray!

So the moral of the tale – follow the measurement directions in the instructions. But also don’t hesitate to make alterations and tweaks to make it work for you! I’ve actually used this pattern before, but that winter version of the dress isn’t wearable as it is (too many graduation gown vibes) and it’s now on the alterations pile. I’m hoping that I can make it just as good as this version!

After yesterday’s zero-waste pattern I thought I’d better switch up the blogging schedule and show you the other two zero-waste garments that I sewed recently.

This is the Xanthea T-shirt and the Clair skirt, both designed by Liz Haywood. Liz is a South Australian who specialises in zero-waste patterns. She’s also written a couple of books; I own her Zero Waste Sewing Book, but haven’t sewn anything from it yet. However after the positive experience I’ve had with these two garments, it won’t be long until I do!

Both patterns start with an exact amount of fabric. The amount depends on the size that you are making, which you determine from your measurements. Then you just follow the instructions to make cuts in the correct places before assembly. There are no pattern pieces. I’ll talk about the Xanthea T-shirt first.

I had a remant piece of printed linen from The Cloth Shop that I really wanted to make the most of. A zero waste pattern seemed like the perfect way to use this special piece of fabric. Although I measured closer to a size 14, I chose to make size 12 because that’s the amount of fabric that I had! I figured that the boxiness of the shape, in combination with the way that the entire top ends up on the bias, would provide enough ease for the 12 to fit me. And it did.

If you look closely at the photos you can see the very interesting seaming. This top is formed by essentially folding/sewing it into an envelope, then cutting out the hole for the neck and opening the opposite end to form the hem. The sleeves are inserted into cuts made in the upper sides of the ‘envelope’. You definitely need to take things slowly and carefully as it’s constructed since it’s so different to what we are all useful – but it’s not actually difficult! There are no shoulder or side seams; all the seams are in the front. I finished the neckline with bias binding used as a facing; the binding was already in stash.

I wore this outfit yesterday on an unseasonably warm early Spring day, and I reckon that this top is the most comfortable woven tee that I have worn. I figure that the secret is in the bias!

I found a piece of linen in stash that was the right dimensions for the Clair skirt, and colour-wise it worked well with the top. The top is more blue and grey, while the skirt is more taupe, but they still ‘match’.

The skirt construction is also fascinating. It’s made of three rectangles – a narrow one for a waistband, and two wider ones that form the skirt once a semi-circle is cut out of each. One semi-circle is cut to form the waist hole and the other to form the hem, then the rectangles are joined in an offset along the straight edges. There is a centre back zip. Once again you need to have faith and just follow the instructions.

As if often the case, I had a problem with the fitted waistband. Although I cut the waistband piece and skirt opening according to my waist measurement, it didn’t really stay in place when I first tried it on. This didn’t really surprise me. My waist is not clearly defined, so as I move around the waistband also shifts up and down, trying to figure out where it wants to settle. So I did a retro fit, unpicked a little of the topstitching at each end of the waistband, and inserted some elastic.

After securing one end of the elastic with topstitching I was able to try the skirt on again and adjust the elastic length until it sat comfortably where I wanted it, without slipping around. Honestly, for people who are shaped like me with a very small waist-hip ratio, elastic waists really are your friend.

You can see that the elastic doesn’t gather the waist in all that much, but it’s enough. If I’d cut a shorter waistband/smaller waist opening to make the waistband tight enough to stay in place, it wouldn’t have been as comfortable to wear.  This is the ‘short’ version of the skirt; there are also instructions for a medium and long length.  This works well for my height.

So my final verdict?  I love both pieces!

Lately I’ve been dabbling more in zero-waste patterns. You can see my first dress here, and since making the one I’m showing you today I have also tried a top and a skirt. The lack of pattern pieces intrigues me; everything is cut out according to instructions and your own measurements.

This time around I used the instructions for the Cris Wood Sews Parasol Dress and Top. She describes it as follows: The Parasol Dress and Top are casual, playful garments that can be made repeatedly in a variety of fabrics. Both the top and the dress can be made with or without sleeves, and feature a low V back and adjustable neck tie. Zero paper waste means there are no paper pattern pieces to print, cut and tape. Simple formulas included in the pattern allow you to grade the pattern to your own personal measurements. Suitable fabrics include light and medium weight woven fabrics – linens, cottons, silks, rayons, viscose blends, gauze.

So first up, I’ll state the obvious: I did not use one of the recommended fabrics for my first attempt at this pattern. Completely inspired by this wool blend version that I’d been fortunate to see in real life, I used grey suiting that has been in my stash for a very long time. Since it was a winter version, I added the sleeves.

This dress layered beautifully over a merino blend long sleeved and tights! Because of the fabric weight and all those gathers it is very voluminous and you can feel the heft of it when wearing – it’s a slow swish!

I’m definitely going to sew this dress again in a lighter weight fabric. And do you get the same strong academic gown vibe when you look at these photos? I didn’t notice it in the mirror, but as soon as I saw the photos all I could think of was the college dining hall and graduation. Not really the look that I was going for – I’ll definitely need to accessorise this carefully!

I have been aware of zero waste patterns for a little while, but it’s been a vague on the edge of my consciousness type of awareness.  I was aware of Holly McQuillan‘s work. Then I came across Liz Hayward‘s zero waste patterns and book.  I had bought the Elbe Textiles Maynard Dress pattern (it’s still on my to-sew list).  Not long after that, Instagram seemed to be full of Cris Wood‘s zero waste patterns.  Then I listened to a podcast focused on zero waste patterns.  Zero and low waste sewing isn’t a new thing – it’s been around for as long as people have made garments from limited quantities of precious fabrics. The Japanese Kimono pops straight into my head as an example, and you can probably think of many more. Do a quick google and you’ll be guided down a fascinating path of the history of zero waste and how the approach is used for modern garments.

Zero waste patterns obviously appeal when you’ve got a precious fabric that you really don’t want to muck up! This printed rayon was bought in Kuching, Borneo. I used the Cris Wood Envelope Dress instructions with the gathered sleeve from the Hack Pack.

These patterns are customised to your own measurements. They’re a set of instructions rather than providing pattern pieces – this dress is entirely made from rectangles. How much fabric you need depends on your measurements and the style that you choose to make. I had enough fabric to make the gathered sleeve version, so that’s what I did!

These clothesline photos really show you how simple the overall shapes are. Front:

And back:

It’s easy to think ‘oh that’s just rectangles, why do I need to buy a pattern’? Well, I figure that it’s worth buying a pattern because the designer has done all the maths to get the size and proportions of each rectangle correct. In my experience, simple shapes actually require quite a bit of work to get right!

It’s the way that the flat rectangles drape over the three-dimensional human shape that make the dress interesting. It’s not hard to vary the neckline depth to suit your preferences. The positioning of the shoulder seams and neckline opening mean that the dress raises up at the centre front hemline, and sits back a bit at the shoulders.

I’ve seen lots of versions of this pattern on Instagram in particular. Length variations, belted, different sleeves; and on a variety of shapes and sizes. If you like ‘sack’ style garments (which I clearly do; fitted is not my scene) this pattern is worth checking out.

Since I sewed this back in January I’ve used another Cris Wood pattern, the Parasol dress, and I have some other zero waste garments planned from Liz Hayward’s book.