Saturday, September 6, 2014

Wenona shirtdress


I made a shirtdress. Actually, the fabric I used was liquid drape rayon challis and it made my dress look rather a blouse-dress than a shirtdress. Yet I'm very pleased with it! The pattern is Wenona shirtdress which was recently released from Named patterns.


I think Wenona is a very modern&pretty shirt dress without being excessively(peculiarly) fashionable. I love my first Wenona... it does suit my everyday perfectly and also fulfills my wish to look special in a good way. I love the fabric itself too. I'm not too sure whether it is appropriate to wear Eucalyptus flower print in this time of year, but still, I really love it for my autumn wardrobe. The hand of the fabric is soft and fluid. The feel of its lightly nap-raized surface is smooth and warm. Gorgeous, gorgeous!


By the way, I basically followed the original pattern and its instructions. Though there was no problem with the process of sewing this dress at all, there is one thing that I'd like to mention about the pattern here. It's about sizing. For this shirtdress I used size 34 in the end, while my measurement size is 40 in the size chart.

I started with a muslin using size 36(two size smaller than my measurements) and I'd say it was very roomy, I mean, very. I guessed the style was intended one to be like that, but I decided to use size 34 because I didn't wish my dress to be particularly loose fitting. And it was OK-ish in the end as you see in the photos.

Named has charts of finished measurements along with size chart, which is very great, and I suggest you not to forget to have a look at the finished measurements before guessing your size by considering the size chart and your measurements, if you happen to start your Wenona. I couldn't foresee the looseness by looking at the sample pictures of the pattern, but it was like that.



Now that I shared my dress, I have another version of Wenona here. My friend Naomi, who is a very popular quilt teacher, made her a shirt version in a crisp linen combination.

She was wearing it when we met a week ago and she was so stylish in this contrasting version! I asked her to let me use one of her photos to share it with you, as I thought that there might be some of you who are interested in different version of Wenona pattern too. Her blog post about the shirt is here (in Japanese). Thank you, Naomi.


Happy sewing to you!!


Hugs,
yoshimi


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Wenona shirtdress pattern
Wenona (PDF) from Named
chosen much smaller size, shortened sleeve length, added belt loops for belt.

Fabric
Anna Maria Horner Pretty Potent Rayon Challis Eucalyptus Lime, which is a fruit of my very first international fabric shopping. oh well.
57" x 2.5yds
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26 comments:

  1. That dress is so, so pretty! I didn’t particularly like the pattern when I saw it on the Named website, but your version is gorgeous. I also love the fabric! If international shipping weren’t as expensive, I would snap up some of it for myself. One of my local fabric stores even has it, but only in a colour way I don’t like. ):

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  2. This is so pretty on you! I've got to get some of that fabric, the drape and print are really lovely.

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  3. Both pieces of clothing are beautiful

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  4. Lovely dress and beautiful fabric!

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  5. This is lovely and the fabric so beautiful!. Would you mind me featuring any of your projects on SSB? I credit, link to your post and let you know when featured.
    https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees

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    1. Of course I don't mind it at all. Thank you for your comment, Sassy!

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  6. The fabric is gorgeous and it really suits the shirt dress style. It looks lovely on you. I love the idea of a shirt dress but don't think I could pull it off!

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  7. This is stunning fabric and shirt dresses are so on trend. You look gorgeous in it!

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  8. Oh Yoshimi! Your dress is simple yet stunning. I really adore the print and after seeing many beautiful makes in rayon challis will be on the search for some for myself. You are again gorgeous!

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  9. This is so lovely and feminine. I love that you used eucalyptus print fabric :)

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  10. Your dress is flattering and beautiful, Yoshimi! Like a lot of other readers apparently, I love that unusual eucalyptus-leaf print.

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  11. This is lovely Yoshimi, gorgeous fabric - and being evergreen, Eucalyptus are almost transeasonal? ;) Once again I am inspired by blogged patterns, rather than the designers' vision, gorgeous.

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  12. Oh, Yoshimi it is beautiful and so very Australian! I was hoping someone would make this dress up as I really love the design. Just perfect.

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  13. Lovely choices Yoshimi. The print was worth purchasing and the dress is simply lovely.

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  14. Thank you, I absolutely love your creations. I will keep you posted.

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  15. So beautiful! You pick the nicest fabrics.

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  16. Beautiful dress, the fabric looks divine!

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  17. Beautiful fabric on your dress! And I didn't even notice the cool stripe down the sleeves until you showed your friend's shirt, really nice touch.

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  18. Now i have to buy this pattern. You look awesome. And the shirt version is so sharp.

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  19. I fell in love with the fabric and googled it only to find it didn't look as stunning as it does on you! I think it is the scale of the design, your pattern selection, and the fact that you are quite tall and slim. A reminder that we always need to focus on our own body types and coloring to select what would be most flattering. Good job! Kay from Hawaii

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  20. Really lovely in that print, yoshimi!

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  21. That fabric is gorgeous. I'm really impressed at your pattern matching skills too.

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  22. Featured on Sassy Sewing Bees https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees ❀

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    1. Hi Sassy, thank you for featuring my Wenona dress! I'm greatly flattered that you like it.

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  23. Your new dress is beautiful. I love your fabric choice.

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Thank you for your comments!!