In the breeze, Sway with ease

The dog days of summer are in full swing. Sunshine! Humidity! Thunderstorms! The intense desire to avoid wearing pants!

No? Is that just me?

As we settle into the heat of August there is nothing more unpleasant than putting on anything tight when the air around you already feels like a thick, woolen hug. It’s at precisely this point every year when I realize I have exactly two casual free flowing dresses on hand for at least a week of sweltering weather. Luckily THIS year, I also happened to have the Sway dress pattern plus some brightly-coloured floaty viscose unassigned to any other project.

I have been wanting to make a Sway dress for some time now, loving the versatility of the pattern. I had a few fabrics on hand that were sort of earmarked for this dress but there was just something about the combo that wasn’t exciting and I avoided the project for months. As I felt the heat and pondered my Sway, I glanced at my pile of newly acquired pretties from San Francisco and this floral popped right out at me.

When I was fabric shopping, I really liked this fabric but didn’t have any projects in mind for it, so I decided just to get my standard 1.5 m that I get for any I-love-this-but-unsure-of-what-to-make-with-it fabrics. I found that with amount I can make a sizable number of patterns without having tons leftover. As I locked into making a Sway dress however, things were tight. It didn’t look like it was even going to happen.

According to the sizing, I am an XS, but since the pattern is anything but fitted, I traced the XS sizing for the bodice/bust area, and then graded down to the XXS on the sides to squeeze both pieces onto my fabric. I am also quite thankful the print is didn’t have an obvious direction so I could invert the front and back pieces. I also saved 3 cm by eliminating the seam at centre ‘front’, which I opted for the round neckline. The design of the sway dress allows so you can wear it forwards, or backwards, depending on what neckline you want.

For some reason, v-necks and I don’t get along well so I knew I’d almost always wear it at the back, leaving the seamline there, and cutting the ‘front’ on the fold. After I sewed the dress up I realized there is now another reason I probably won’t wear it the other way around. There is some…unfortunate…flower placement in the bodice region.

As has been mentioned by many before, Papercut Patterns are quite short. I didn’t have the luxury of adding any length as I usually would have, but just enough to cut true to the midi length version of the pattern. It actually works out to be the perfect length for a hot summer dress, just landing above my knees. I am fairly sure the mini version of the dress would be more like a shirt. (Actually…a Sway shirt would be super cute…writing that idea down now).

I barely managed to get the waist tie and pockets cut out of the fabric, and had to resort to an ivory cotton I had on hand to cut the facings, but I got everything out!

While on the topic of facings; usually you will find me firmly on team bias binding, but I forgot about all in one facings for sleeveless garments. I had only ever done this once before and OMG I LOVE how it turned out. It’s so crisp and has such a neat finish. So if anyone now asks, I am on team bias binding* (*unless I can use an all-in-one facing.)

What I was most impressed with in making this dress was how quickly it came together. It is very rare for me nowadays to have the attention span to complete a garment in one go. Not counting the fabric tetris to get it cut out, I think it took me 2 hours from start to finish in one sitting. It was SO satisfying to go from pieces to a garment in a single stretch.

I have happily worn this dress so many times this summer! It’s become my new go-to on those days where it’s just too warm. It’s the perfect blend of breezy, cool and still a lil’ fancy. Because the fabric is so light and flowy, I love the look of it worn with the belt, but I think as the weather cools down it would be super cute with some tights and full trapeze shape.

Here’s to those projects that just seem to be a success; easy to make, uses up all the fabric, fits a need in your wardrobe and gets lots of wear time. Have a sunny week, friends!