Sewspiration: The Wilder Gown

You may have noticed a few new pattern faces in our ‘new in‘ section on the website and we wanted to share them in a little more detail. Picking a new pattern can be exciting, but you also want to make sure you get it right. Which is why here at Sewisfaction, we’ve done all the hard work for you, pairing fabrics, inspiration and sharing top tips from making it ourselves.

Scroll on and prepare to start your new project stat!

At a glance

Pattern: Friday Pattern Company ‘Wilder Gown‘

Sewing Level: Beginner

Techniques: Gathering

Size range: XS – 4X

Fabric requirements: 3.5-4 metres depending on size and fabric width for dress view or 1.5-2.5 metres depending on size and fabric width for blouse view

Overview: The Wilder Gown is ‘THE’ sewists dress of the moment right now, we’ve seen so many swishy versions all over instagram and we just had to have a go. It’s a super simple sew, perfect for beginners and it’s ‘modular’ views mean that it can be really easily customised or ‘hacked’ to suit your style. The most difficult part of this make is the gathering, so if you’ve nailed that technique, you’ll really find this make simple.

The verdict: We totally get the hype, this simple yet effective gown is not only easy to make, but as you grow on your sewing journey the options for this modular make are endless! A must-make.

Inspiration

A very ‘of the moment’ style, this dress has been seen in a few forms on some of our favourite, bloggers and celebs in a few variations. So far ours (the dress version with midi sleeves) has been paired with tights and heeled ankle boots but we can’t wait to see lots of them paired with strappy heels or gladiators when the sun comes back out (eventually).

Fabric picks

And now onto the important part, the fabric! Designed for woven fabrics, this dress is the perfect excuse to go through your stash and make a through variations, but also what would a sewing project be without a bit of fabric shopping? We’ve pulled together our favourite fabrics below.

Autumn Breeze Viscose Print

This print forever will remind us of Juliet from Sewing Bee, with hints of African Wax print, this viscose is in fact beautifully soft and drapey and would make a beautiful blouse view – perhaps with a statement sleeve that can be worn with jeans and heels.

Luxury Triple Crepe – Black

A classic, we really don’t think you could go wrong making a Wilder Gown in this Luxury Triple Crepe – we’re all about wearable garments and having one in black will not only fill a gap in your wardrobe but will forever be the dress you dress up and dress down for every occasion.

Lovely Lobelia Cotton Twill

Thinking forward to summer, a cotton twill version of this pattern is a must. We can see this as both the dress view and the blouse, but the blouse really has a special place in our wardrobes. We’d pair it with a denim skirt and trainers for ‘cool girl off-duty’ style.

Starry Night Double Gauze – Black

This beautiful double gauze had a special place in our hearts the minute it was delivered and we’re hoping it’ll have a very special place ‘Wilder’ shaped place in our wardrobe very soon. We’ve already planned this as a short version of the dress to wear on holiday with sandals and a basket bag in the evening.

Top tips

Now you’ve got your inspiration and fabric picked, we wanted to share just a few little tips we picked up from making the dress:

-Gathering, this is one we’ve been asked about already as they kept snapping the thread. Make sure you have a good quality thread like Gutterman as these wont snap as easy as cheaper versions. Also be sure to do TWO rows of gathering stitch as this really doesn’t make it easier to control your gathers.

-The neck tie is a gorgeous feature of this dress, but if you’re running low on fabric, we found that adding a piece of ribbon in a contrast print or pattern or even fabric from your stash does the job just fine.

And that’s everything you need to make the perfect Wilder gown – be sure to tag your makes with #mysewisfaction so we can see them and comment on this post if you have any questions about this make, we’ll do our best to answer them.