DIY TIERED SUMMER DRESS | FIBRE MOOD ROSALIE + MIRA

What happens when Rosalie meets Mira? Well, let’s call her Rosamira… Or should it be Miralie? Yes, more Fibre Mood love, this time of the mashing kind. I love my pattern hacking alright, but nothing better than frankenpatterning two or more into something new.

Rosalie has been hacked before (see this flounce scuba top) and she was a real success. Same for Mira (check out the hacked version). And of course, they both got made in the original versions (white Rosalie and navy Mira). So 3rd time lucky, it’s a lovechild!

So let me tell you how she came together…

FIBRE MOOD ROSALIE + FIBRE MOOD MIRA

I won’t go too much into detail as to the original dresses, please check the original posts if you’d like to know more. However, I wanted to highlight the features which I wanted to keep for my mash-up.

Rosalie: I really like the v-neck, over the boobs bodice line and the flounce sleeves. Basically, all the bodice.

Mira: The tiers and A-line shape.

SAVE THIS FOR LATER ON PINTEREST

THE HACK

I knew from experience that the original Rosalie in size S was way too big in the upper area, so I needed to significantly reduce it. I cut out a size XS and did not include seam allowances. Then, I ended up taking out an inch each side as it still looked too big. So I made it much more fitted than initially designed.

The challenge came from the fact that my fabric was only 1.2m wide. So even if I had 2m to play with, I had to work around this issue to get the gathers that I so loved about Mira.

So I cut two tiers as per Mira pattern pieces, each 1.2 m wide (max width available). I had already increased each one by 5cm (2”) in width, as the initial version of Mira was a bit short.

However, because they were the same width, there would be no gathering to obtain the tiered effect. So I had to get creative. I still had a 3rd pannel of 1.2m of leftover fabric. So I cut it in half and added 60cm ungathered straight to the bodice. It was a bit too long, so I removed 10cm from the lower edge. The overall length ended up knee-high.

The remaining 60 cm I added to the bottom tier to get extra volume. Because the fabric is already crinkled and it has gathers, you can’t even see the seams.

Other changes:

• I finished the bodice edge with a fabric strip (didn’t have enough for bias) folded in half, stitched to the edge and topstitched down on the wrong side.
• I finished the flounce edges with a rolled hem and left it open

THE FABRIC

I bought the fabric last year when I was in Den Hague with my friend Ana, who was joining me from Romania. She is one of my oldest friends and we don’t see each other very often, so I wanted to get some fabric and make her something to remember this wonderful holiday.

I ended up in this lovely little fabric shop (HEINDE & VAN VERRE INTERIEUR) and chatting to the owner, I chose this lovely cotton that she had brought from India, from an ethical supply chain. It’s a crinkled gauze that’s light and airy, but also has a lovely texture. My friend loves pinks, and such colours suit her perfectly, so I thought this fuchsia pink will work so well.

You can find the full details of the shop in my Den Hague Fabric Shopping guide.

I had initially planned to make a Seamwork Almada robe, but then I had this idea to hack these two patterns. I can picture my friend running on the beach by the Black Sea, the breeze billowing all those tiers… Just perfect!

SUMMARY

PATTERN: Fibre Mood Mira size XS no SA + Fibre Mood Rosalie size S
FABRIC: 2m fuchsia cotton crinkle gauze
NOTIONS: None
ALTERATIONS: Removed 2.5cm from the bodice width, added one extra tier
OTHER VERSIONS: Carole from La Maison Six Chouettes (in French) I saw this after I did mine, but if I ever want to do this hack again, I’ll try this, as it looks easier to just hack the Rosalie skirt into 3 tiers.

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As much as I love this dress, it is now on its way to Bucharest, so that my friend can enjoy it while it’s still hot. And to top it off, I even made her a pair of matching polymer clay earrings.

WHAT HAVE YOU SELFLESSLY SEWN THIS SUMMER? TELL ME IN COMMENTS.

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