Roksi Trio
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to guest blog alongside some other amazing women on D&H Fabrics' blog.
Roksi Trio using D&H Fabrics
The initiative, Sewing is for Everyone and Every Body, featured myself and a handful of other ladies who hadn't necessarily felt the most included in the Instagram sewing community in one way or another. These ladies highlighted the exclusivity geared towards plus sizes, the deaf community, those of an older age, women of color, taller women, and women who battle with chronic illnesses or disabilities. We were encouraged to share our personal story and were given the opportunity to make something using fabrics donated from Tammy at D&H Fabrics and our choice of pattern donated from indie pattern designers Kelly from True Bias, Amy from Amy Nicole Studio, and Diane from Bluedotpatterns. After looking through the options, I decided that I wanted to make a dress from Amy Nicole Studio's Roksi Trio.
Roksi Trio from Amy Nicole Studio
What really drew me to this pattern was the simplicity and the versatility. Out of this one pattern set you can get 26 (yes you read that right) different variations. There are 3 different basics: crop, tank, and dress. This is a great beginner's pattern set because of the simple shape that's still flattering while also giving you TWENTY SIX different variations to play and experiment with!
Pattern Pieces
Seeing as I was elbows-deep in costuming my biggest show to date, I wanted to go with something on the simpler side so that I could crank it out quickly if necessary. Amy's pattern not only was that simple silhouette I wanted but also included a higher size range that touched on my bust measurement which meant I wouldn't have to spend time altering the patterns too much.
Amy Nicole's Roksi Size Chart
Before jumping into this project, I took the precaution of making a quick muslin (first draft) to check and see if the fit worked well. I added on an inch off the side of the two pieces (see below) for a piece total of 2" added and a total for 4" added. I also wanted to make sure that the armhole went high enough to accommodate for my larger bust so I added 1/2" along those armhole seams (front and back) and adding another 1/2" to the hemline. I threw it together with a remnant of lighter-weight home decor fabric I had on hand and it fit and looked so good I just had to finish it! It turned out so perfectly that I actually wore it to the closing night of Mamma Mia (and got tons of compliments on it)!
Pattern Alterations
As I mentioned before, the final fabrics for this dress came from Tammy at D&H Fabrics. I fell in love with this Garden Party cotton lawn instantly and knew it'd be perfect for the dress. I didn't even think that it could potentially show more than I wanted before knowing I had to have it for the dress portion. Somehow the Dreamy Lavender cotton double Gauze was listed right under and I could instantly see how perfect the two would be together. When I finally cut out the final pieces, the crop took just about 1 yd of the double gauze while the dress took almost 2 yds. I will say that the only downside to Garden Party was that it was too narrow to fit the full pattern so I had to taper the side seams by about 2" in order to fit but if I hadn't just told you, you'd never know! Big Tip for Beginners (and other Seasoned Sewists): Make sure you do an "Underwear Test." Basically that means that you should take your fabric (especially lighter weight and lighter color fabrics) and make sure that you can't see through the fabric when you'll be wearing it. It wasn't until after I finished the dress that I thought to do it but someone must've been looking out for me because I was so thrilled and relieved when we couldn't see through.
Honestly I've never been a huge dress person but I absolutely cannot wait for it to get a bit warmer so I can wear this beaut on the regular. I can tell this pattern will definitely be one I come back to to play with quite often and, again, if you're interested in learning how to sew clothes, this is definitely one of my top suggestions to start your journey with!
Make sure you check out the Sewing Is for Everyone and Every Body initiative on D&H Fabrics' blog at https://dhfabricsandco.com/blog, swing by my post and give it a like or share if you're a fan!
All My Love,
Stephanie