The Love Notions Feature Friday is back! This is a great opportunity to get one of the classic LN patterns on sale and learn some easy hacks, get styling tips and fabric ideas.
This week’s Pattern Spotlight is the Tessa Sheath dress, and between you and me, it’s one of my favorite Love Notions dress patterns.
With the holiday season fast approaching you need the Tessa in your pattern collection. Its versatility makes it the perfect party dress. The sale price is only $5 and the pattern includes so many options! Go get the pattern here and then come back to the blog to read how I added beautiful lace details to one of my dresses. I’ll wait 😉
Now that you have your pattern, print the size(s) you need and cut your bodice fabric. I am using some gorgeous Sly Fox Fabrics Techno Scuba for the front and back of the dress. The sleeves will be stretch picot lace because I absolutely love the scallop effect. Plus, no hemming needed! Win – win.
The lace I picked for this is actually 11″ trim lace, also from Sly Fox Fabrics. Simply cut the lace the same way you would your fabric, making sure the scalloped edge is at the hem of the short sleeve and the bottom of the yoke front and back, not at the shoulder.
Sew the center seam of the back bodice as instructed in the pattern. You will now need to hem the top edge of both front and back bodices. Use a 3/8″ hem allowance and a stretch stitch or coverstich (as I have).
Place your front lace yoke’s wrong side on the front bodice’s right side, overlapping the scalloped edge 3/8″ inch and pin in place. Repeat with the back yoke.
Attach the yokes to the bodice pieces using a stretch stitch. I prefer a triple stretch stitch for this step.
Continue sewing the pattern as per the tutorial. If you used scalloped stretch lace, do not hem your sleeves. Let the beautiful lace do the work.
Bonus: You might have noticed that I added some trim to the bottom hem too. Easy peasy! Simply measure the skirt bottom opening and cut a piece of trim 2″ by the measured length plus seam allowance. Sew the lace trim right sides together at the short end to create a loop.
Pin the trim to the bottom raw edge of the dress and sew in place. Press and topstitch the seam allowance up.
All you have to do now is enjoy your new lace accented Tessa Sheath Dress and show it off in the Love Notions FB group too!
This style dress will make the most beautiful office party dress. Grab your favorite heels and shine in your party Tessa.
Did you know that the Tessa Sheath Dress bodice matches the Sybil Skirt? Well, it does! So if you have the Sybil Skirt pattern, now that you have bought the Tessa, you can make so many style dresses. I will show you a few of my favorites.
Let’s move the party from the office to a lounge or a bar. The scoop neck Tessa bodice paired with the above knee gored Sybil skirt is my pick for a comfortable, fun party outfit. As soon as I saw the Sly Fox Diamond Geo Ponte de Roma I knew it would have to be my fabric choice. I just love the simple, yet stylish look of this mash up pattern.
The Tessa Sheath Dress pattern includes the bodice front and back pattern pieces that can be mashed with the Sybil Skirt so you will not need to make any modifications to the dress. Tami made this easy for us!
Wouldn’t this style make the perfect little black dress? Grab some solid black Ponte, maybe some glitter accents and your favorite jewelry and…tadah! Easy, quick, fabulous!
Now, if you are anything like me and go for comfort before anything else, especially if you live in a warm, humid climate then I highly encourage you to try some bamboo lycra Tessa/Sybil mash ups. I absolutely love these outfits because they pull double duty. You can take them from the office, accessorize them with some statement jewelry and heels and you have a perfect party dress for a fun night out.
Bamboo is a natural fiber with excellent drape and recovery. These two rainbow color fabric are from Fabric Anthropology. You do not need anything extra to sew bamboo spandex, it is as easy as stitching cotton spandex. The diamond rainbow stripes dress above features the Tessa scoop neckline bodice and the Sybil swing skirt. The skirt length is in between the above and below knee.
I have worn this rainbow stripes dress paired with flats to lost of school activities but I also wore it with these stilettos on a date with my husband. So versatile! The bodice is of course the Tessa that I did some creative color-blocking to accommodate the fabric cut I had on hand. The skirt is the Sybil pleated skirt. You might notice that I only have 4 pleats instead of 5, I did that on purpose 😉
Now that you have some ideas of how to use the Tessa Sheath Dress pattern to make multiple styles of dresses, grab your favorite fabrics and get to sewing. I can’t wait to see what you create!
Alex
