Let me start off by saying how much I love sewing wovens. If you take a scroll through all my previous makes, it’s very easy to see that woven dresses are my favorite and most made garment both for myself and for my daughter. With all that being said, I was really excited to be a host for this month’s Sew My Style and even more excited to finally sew the Orchid Midi Dress from Chalk and Notch.

This is my second time sewing a Chalk and Notch pattern (my first being the famous Fringe Dress) so I knew I’d want to make a few adjustments before cutting into my fabric. I decided to make even more adjustments just because of the nature of this pattern to accommodate my size range. In retrospect, I’m not sure they were all necessary, but I love what I ended up with.

Details:

• Graded from a size 4 waist to size 8 hips and size 0 hem length.
• Shortened the skirt 3 more inches to accommodate my 5’1″ height. In doing so, I needed to trim the slit seam interfacing as well.
• Removed 2.5″ from the bodice.
• Added the optional snap to close bodice.
• Art Gallery Fabrics: Mystical Land Collection by Maureen Cracknell. This is the Magic Fauna Mystique rayon.

For once, I stuck with my plan to use preordered fabric for this pattern. I usually waffle between decisions but this one was an easy one. Rayon is my new favorite fabric substrate and I knew I’d want the breathabililty and drape for this dress. This print was exactly what I was looking for and I loved how easy it was to work with.

From the ruffle sleeves to the gathering in the bodice to the drawstring waist, there are so many little details that really make this dress spectacular. I was never a huge fan of wrap dresses due to being flat chested, but I can’t help loving all the extra attention to detail. I plan on wearing this dress to upcoming summer events that call for slightly dressier than my usual t-shirt and jeans. It’s a mix of fancy and comfort that I could totally see myself wearing day to day too. For future versions, I would definitely love to see this in solid colors, a sleeveless option, and without the front slit.

I found the instructions to be pretty straight forward with one exception: attaching the shoulder seam of the front and back bodice. It took a bit to understand how to do it, but it was really easy once I started doing it. If you come to this part and have similar questions, I took some pictures to help you out.

Attaching the shoulder seam

1. It’s time to attach the front bodice to the back.
2. We’re working with the back yoke with no interfacing.
3. Pin the front bodice to the back yoke only. Right sides together.
4. View of the front bodice and back yoke pinned together.
5. Baste in place.
6. Twist the interfaced back facing so that the right side of this faces the wrong side of the front bodice.
7. Pin at the shoulder seam and sew.
8. You will have essentially sandwiched the shoulder seam of the front bodice between the back yoke and back facing.
9. Press and repeat for opposite shoulder.

Chalk and Notch really hit out of the park with yet another dress pattern and I now know why everyone is so obsessed. I would definitely recommend this pattern to a friend and can’t wait to make more versions!

Are you participating in June’s woven dress challenge? Which pattern are you making? Reveal day is always the last Sunday of the month and I can’t wait to see your finished makes! Be sure to follow along in our Facebook group or follow the hashtag #sewmystyle2019 on Instagram to see everyone’s progress. If you’re new to Sew My Style, learn all about it here.