In this guest blog post, we feature Emma in a beautiful African print fabric from Dovetailed London. Emma (aka @editrixemma ) was gifted this fabric in exchange for a blog post as part of the Dovetailed London Ambassador Program. Want to read on, get a cup of your favourite drink and enjoy!
I'm so glad I was chosen to be a Dovetailed ambassador! This print was one of my favourites and I love the vibrant colours and geometric shape. I've used African wax fabric in the past, and I love the ease with which it sews up. It presses like a dream, doesn't shift, and the structure is great for pieces that need a little extra oomph.
Since the print is quite bold, and also intricate, I wanted to make something with very few seam lines so as not to get bogged down with too much pattern matching (a meticulous sewer, I am not!). After much hemming and hawing, I landed on a tried and true pattern: a Georgia Tee dress hack. I've made the Elizabeth Suzann pattern countless times, and it really lends itself to variations depending on your fabric limitations.
Having made many of these in the past, I've got the perfect bodice length figured out for my preference. After laying out the bodice pieces, I got to determining my skirt length. I wanted to use as much of the fabric as possible, but I also knew that since the fabric is on the narrower side at 44 inches, I wouldn't get a very voluminous skirt if I cut the remaining fabric into two skirt pieces. Instead, I measured and cut into thirds. This gave me a skirt that was 132 inches around, and I was able to gather that to my 50-inch bodice.
This pattern comes together very quickly, and before long I had a lovely finished dress. I don't often wear skirts above the knee, but for such a bold print, it's a nice option and I feel that in a longer dress the fabric might be a bit overwhelming for me. Making this dress was a great experience and I look forward to sewing more wax print fabric!
Want to make something gorgeous in this fabric? Shop here.
Want to sew with African fabric? Shop here.
Looking for a range of sewing patterns designed specifically with African wax print fabric in mind, shop here.
Want to buy ready-made in a selection of Dovetailed garments? Shop ready made here.
Want to make your own with a little help? Shop workshops here.