Oh my dear maxi dress. There is such drama to you. You flow long and somehow ooze sexiness even as you manage to cover more skin. You are a charismatic, enigmatic beast and I am happy to introduce you to my closet.
I am finally getting around to blogging about this maxi length wrap dress VONDEL! It’s an ambitious pattern hack from the Halfmoon Atelier pattern Wrap Top Vondel. I wore this flowing garden of feminine goodness over a month ago to the Tabitha Sewer Meet Up in Brooklyn, of which I was proud and excited to be a sponsor. It was a spectacular afternoon on a sunny rooftop with fifty other garment sewers and a blur of colorful outfits, music and sewing celebration. Check out Tabitha’s Instagram for the video. This dress was the perfect accompaniment.
The original pattern comes with a mid-length and a shirt length and I knew immediately after making this one that I needed this style as a full maxi dress. I love the femininity and details of the wrap top (those gathers!) but wanted to bring the drama of a maxi dress.
There is a bit of an origin story for this dress to be honest. The inspiration came from Debbie Stoller of BUST magazine. Back when I visited the BUST offices to take photos for my espadrilles DIY in the magazine, I met and had lunch with Debbie. She is editor in chief of BUST, author of the Stitch and Bitch knitting series and a super awesome human being. That day she was wearing a bright red floor length floral dress. It was so attention-getting and dramatic. I loved the boldness of her dress and felt enveloped in her honesty and warmth. I decided then and there that I deserved a bold floor-length floral dress too.
So when I came across this incredible navy/green/hot red floral print at Blackbird Fabrics I snatched up four yards. It was only appropriate to wear such a strong woman-inspired dress to a gathering of bold, colorful female sewists then, wasn’t it?
I’ll be sharing the details of how I adapted the original pattern over on Meghann’s blog soon so keep an eye out for that.
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Masha says
It’s gorgeous! That fabric is so pretty.
Melissa Q. says
Thank you so much!!