I’ve had a toothache all week, which has led me to drink a little more brandy than I might usually. One night, I decided I needed to make a version of the dress from Cos, with the contrast hem panel that I discovered while playing Dressmaking Detective.

This was an impulsive, drunken sew session. I had two remnants,  that I wanted to try together. The top part of the dress is 80cm of Ponte that I picked up from Sew Over It.  I’m not sure about Ponte. It has a nice weight and drape, but I don’t know that it ages well. Do all Pontes pill? Has anyone got thoughts on this?

I think I might just prefer a cotton/lycra jersey.

The hem is made from a woven, digital print, I only had a metre of. It’s a very crisp, medium weight fabric.

I wanted to see how the stretch and woven fabrics would combine in one dress. Plus, I was drunk, so it seemed like a good idea.

I’m wearing it now and I rather like it. I will treat it mean, to see how well the Ponte holds up.

I self-lined the hem and used every last scrap of fabric; the pockets ended up being a bit on the small side. (Pocket width should never be less than 17cm). The sleeves were also shorter than I would have liked.

My next post will include a tutorial for making the new pattern pieces. Here are some of my tipsy tips for this dress.

Mixing Woven and Stretch Fabric Tips

• I self-lined the hem but I could have just hemmed the woven fabric with a double roll. I think the finish depends on the weight of the fabric. If it’s a lighter fabric, go ahead and line it, if it’s heavier, don’t add the extra weight of a self-lining.
• The lining could be a lighter, contrasting fabric.
• This could look great in a jersey and cotton eyelet for the summer. The Eyelet could be lined in a contrasting colour fabric, for extra zest.
• Choose a jersey with a little body, like a medium-heavy weight cotton/lycra. Avoid a very slinky jersey, such as one with viscose or polyester.

• Keep it simple and subdued.

• Or go crazy and combine prints!

• I should have stay-stitched the hem of the jersey before attaching it to the woven. Naturally it wants to stretch, and it must be discouraged!
• I topstitched the hem panel to the body to catch the lining in. I will stitch in the ditch or bag it out next time so that the stitching is invisible at the hem panel seam.
• The pockets could be lined in the woven fabric.
• The pockets could also be cut wider at the top, so that they hang in a relaxed open manner, as they do in this Cos dress. That could be fun with a bit of the contrasting, woven fabric peaking out. To make a pattern piece like this, take a rectangle and then slash and spread from the top down.

Watch for my next post on hacking an A-line dress pattern, to include a contrasting hem panel.