We’re now back home after an utterly brilliant week in Paris, which was precisely the holiday we sorely needed, and haven’t had since we were infected with Covid in 2023. But ahead of the holiday, I went on an absolute sewing frenzy, both to make some room in my sewing stash before I hit up Atelier Brunette and the Montmartre coupon fabric stores, but also because I enjoy sewing things I might take on holiday!
I ended up packing only one of the four garments I sewed in the frenzy (this one didn’t make the cut purely because it didn’t “go” with any of my waterproof boots, and the forecast was WET), but I still made some garments I love…
…the first of which is this Named Gemma dress! This pattern has two pretty distinct views, and only really share the geometric pieces in the front. I made the sweatshirt version a few years ago in a waffle jersey that I still wear frequently (though I removed the sleeve cuff elastic and I wear it a lot more since then!), but this is my first time sewing the dress version.
Going by my current “still losing the weight I gained being bedbound with Long Covid for two years” measurements, I made a size 44, tapering up to 46+ in the waist, since that’s where I’m holding the bulk of my remaining weight gain. I should point out that since this is one of their older patterns, the sizing only goes up to 46.
When I held the pattern up to my body, it seemed REALLY long and I was right – I measured from my waist to knees, then added 10cm (so it would be 8cm beyond my knee when hemmed) and chopped off the rest. That means I removed a whopping 30cm (about a foot!!), and I’m not short – 172cm/5’8”! 😳 This hem would’ve been dragging on the ground as drafted, not to mention the wasted fabric…
The fabric is a beautiful imported Italian ponte jersey I bought at Ditto Fabrics when I was down in Brighton in October. It’s 97% viscose, 3% elastane which I bought for £26 total with a big “long time customer” discount from the owner. It’s not on their website, but there’s currently a different Italian ponte jersey in “camel”. This fabric is a beautiful rose/rust colour that is VERY much in my colour palatte – when I went to hang it up in my closet it was comical how many dresses and jumpsuits are already in this colour!
As per usual with Named, the drafting and instructions are excellent. In particular, I’d forgotten how weird and fun the construction of this is! You connect half of the front pieces to the sleeve, or to the back, before assembling it. Very clever, and it works perfectly.
I wasn’t sure if I’d need a centre back zipper or not so I basted all the body seams before trying it on (and before attaching the collar) and it was absolutely fine pulling it over my head. And no fit changes needed either!
Unlike my sweater version, where my slightly misaligned colour blocking still annoys me, I put in the effort to get those seams perfectly matching! My tip: ALWAYS baste the important intersection areas with the sewing machine first – just an inch or two on either side. Check the right side, and rip out & redo until they’re perfect. Only THEN sew the rest of the seam with either the sewing machine or overlocker/serger! (It’s impossible to guarantee matching seams with the overlocker in my experience)
I hemmed the vent edges, sleeves, and bottom edge with just the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine rather than the coverstitch, simply because I didn’t have a good third colour thread to use in the looper (I tend to use my thread spool & bobbin for the needle threads when it’s a small project like this).
This is such a great winter dress! I love that I am starting to be able to wear the bodycon styles I gravitate towards again!