Silk Dress pattern proposals

I asked for suggestions for a diaphanous silk dress. Internet friends supplied some ideas. Demented Fairy writes:

V1244 or V1301 [both Koos van den Akker] scream for diaphanous prints. As long as the silk is ultra fine, they would be lovely. I can personally vouch for the beauty of V1410 in a fine silk, much drapier and more elegant than the pattern image. V1223 is a lovely flirty offering from Ann Klein, or the more structured Guy Laroche 1339.

Let’s start with Mr Koos van den Akker. Here he is, in his full waistcoated glory. I like that his shirt sleeves are different and that his patterns seem to include fruit and veg. He died a couple of months ago and this write up is rather lovely. He draped rather than flat pattern cut, always inspired by the fabric to create architechtual shapes. Aparently he liked dressing larger ladies, which makes me glad. But it also puts me off a little bit.

Here is V1244 and I love the fabrics Vogue has chosen for the patchwork selection. One piece for the beautiful sleeveless cowl top and then a selection of five additional fabrics for the skirt. I think these may be silk satin – the colours seem especially vibrant, but they could be polyester – who knows? The skirt is reversible.

Here is the technical drawing. As you can probably fathom the elasticated skirt is on a loop with no hem, so you just turn it inside out and you have the same skirt but with a different colour way. Version one for example has a preponderance of fabric 1, plus blouse fabric, with no fabric 3, whereas version two has much more of fabric 3 at the hip with the other four colours plus blouse fabric at the bottom. There is a belt too to add yet more colour and excitement into the outfit.  It could be a really fun way to combine six different patterned silks. I like the colours on the Vogue pattern envelope. I also like the concept of a blouse and skirt for versatility and the idea of having a skirt that reverses is also fun. There are two versions on Pattern Review. But the shape is not really what I want. The gathered, elasticated waist is just about OK (although the model does look like she has full hips) worn with a tightish belt. But I don’t like soft hems. Never have, never will. I love the blouse, and would certainly wear this shape, but I think I could draft this pattern myself.

Here is another dress from the same designer – this is Vogue 1301. I actually rather like this one. It also has a third piece – this time a scarf or stock to wear with it. I like all three views. This one again is made from three of different fabrics, arranged like patchwork. It can be worn with or without sleeves, with a high or open neck and with the scarf tied around the waist, neck or as a headscarf.

Let’s have a look at the drawing. One of the suggested fabrics is chiffon and I think this would work brilliantly in hand painted chiffon with a nice silk lining. I have never painted on chiffon but I think it would be a lovely project. And because you have control over the colours you can guarentee a harmonious pattern match – using three different colours in varying proportions, for example. I find this an exciting proposition. The only thing that puts me off is the large amount of seaming which, with handpainted cloth, is not actually needed. How many of these seams are to join the fabric and how many incorporate darts? The garment is refered to as very loose fitting, and it is a “pullover” style, so maybe the it’s just a tent.

One of the suggestions from Ruth is a Marfy pattern which also flares from the neck : 3234. If you are familiar with this Italian company you may know they provide a few free patterns, one of which is a blouse which is rather similar to this dress. I like the fullness and drapyness of the dress so this pattern also appeals to me greatly. I think it would look beautiful in a hand painted silk.

Here is a lovely version of the free blouse download made by Red Point Tailor. I love the colour and design of the silk Beata has used and the shape is very flattering with her slim arms.

The second Marfy pattern Ruth has picked out for me is this one. I am attracted to this pattern which again features a lovely flowing skirt from a high waist. It appears that there is a sheer panel which covers and reveals the back – back detail I like that – and this may be the case at the front. The wide boat neck is attractive as is the bowed back belt. I do like to have a good look at the technical drawings before I buy a pattern. If I am paying £10 or more I want to know it is not something I could just draft myself.

Finally let’s examine the Anne Klein V 1223 pattern. I really love this dress, especially the way the pleating comes down over the right shoulder into the skirt. I think this would look work brilliantly with a hand painted silk. In fact I like the textile that Vogue has shown the dress in. So fresh and summery! I am coming around to this one as my first choice but the Marfy 3234 and the Koos 1301 are close seconds. I think at the end of the day I like a defined waist line.

Here it is from the front and the tech drawing.

My search is not over – the main reason being that I had a maxi length in mind originally and all of these are shorter numbers. Two of the ideas from DF are longer, which I will consider in a future post.