Pattern mash up!! - Fibremood Feliz and Shift Dress

In this post, I will walk you through how I mashed 2 different patterns to make a new dress #thehemlineeclectic #fibremoodfeliz #sewyourperfectcapsulewardrobe

The idea

Ever since I made the shift dress from the "Sew your perfect capsule wardrobe" book, I have loved the fit across my bodice, especially on the shoulders and armholes. It is a very flattering fit and I can still comfortably wear a bra. I have made many different shift dresses with this pattern as a base.

I had made this dress last summer, during early sewing days.

I then made a Fibremood Feliz dress pattern, which I fell in love with right away. It has such a great silhouette. It is a praire style dress with a straight skirt leaving a very long and an easy relaxed look which I love.

I wanted to mix these 2 favorite patterns to make a new dress.

I decided to use the bodice of the shift dress and the skirt and pockets of the feliz dress.

The Fabric

This pattern mash up was also inspired by the fabulous Telio Rayon slub fabric I purchased from Fabric.com. This is such a beautiful fabric. I was searching for a great pattern to show it off. I went through several patterns for this fabric but this mash up really made me smile.

I decided to color block for the bodice and debated between a pink or a cream polyester fabric I had in my remnant stash for the bodice. I finally went with this mauve pink, and it turned out great.

The Mash Up

To mash up the two patterns, I decided to use the full skirt with pockets from Feliz.

The shift dress front pattern piece is cut on the fold and the back is cut as 2 pieces.

1. I measured the distance from my shoulders to my natural waist

2. I then measured this distance on the front and back shift dress pattern pieces.

3. I drew a line at that distance than the measure 5/8 below that line and marked the seam allowance.

4. I did the same for the back pattern piece

5. I used this new bodice pattern and along with the facing to make the bodice

Sewing up the dress

This was a pretty straight forward sew, I followed the instructions from the book to make the bodice. The facing is completely enclosed and has a beautiful finish all over. As per the instructions, I interfaced the facing.

Once I finished the neckline and armholes, it was time to get to the skirt.

To sew the skirt and the pockets, I followed the same instructions as to sew up Fibremood Feliz.

I sewed the skirt to the bodice as instructed and Voila!!!

I love this relaxed silhouette.

Overall it was very fast sew because there were no closures or too many pattern pieces.

Techniques you will learn

If you choose to sew this pattern mash up, which is pretty beginner friendly, you will

1. Learn to sew darts

2. Learn to make an fully enclosed facing

3. Learn to sew in-seam pockets

4. Learn to gather a skirt and sew it to a bodice

Styling

In this post, I have styled this dress with my brown ankle boots from Cole Haan.

In the summer, this dress would be very cure with strappy sandals.

In the colder months, this dress can be easily layered over a turtle neck, tights and a cardigan. This is bound to become a wardrobe staple!

Get Inspired

Do you have patterns that you love? Try and think of innovative ways to mash them up. Do you have a bodice fit that you love and pants that you love? Why not make a pattern mash up jumpsuit!?

This can take your sewing to a new level and challenge you to use the patterns in your stash in a new way.

I leave you here with more pictures to inspire you. Reach out if you wanna chat about mashing up patterns!

#thehemlineeclectic #slowsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewing #sewcialists #handmadewardrobe #handmadefashion