Quick and Easy Cowl neck Jersey Dress
I had been in Mandors and bought a length of Jersey from their rack of offcuts and decided to try make myself something cheap and cheerful. Since I wanted it to be cheap and cheerful I wanted to see if I could get a free online pattern. I originally had it in my head that I wanted to make a long sleeve top with a cowl neck, but when searching for cowl neck patterns I came accross the Eva Dress on a website called your style rocks.
It's a really good site giving a few free patterns and all of them have good instructions and pictures of the finished pieces. You just download the pattern and either print it on your A4 printer and put it together or print it at a larger paper size if you have the means.
This was the first time I'd made anything with a cowl neck so I didn't realise I should fold the top of piece one so the wrong sides were together and stitch it together at the seams. Saying that, the fabric I used means it still hangs like a cowl neck so I'm ok with that. I do however think that not having done this is the reason why the back neck facing was too long and is not finished well on my dress - the saving grace of having long hair that I always wear down is that it's not that noticeable! Both it is worth mentioning so others can learn from my mistakes! One thing that is great about this fabric is that because it's a creased fabric it helps to hide mistakes better.
This was my finished piece. I adjusted the length of the dress as I prefer dresses above the knee and I've cut the pattern shorter so that the next dress I made in this style was the shorter length. I find it easier if things are the correct length to start instead of having to shorten hems, especially when it's by a considerable amount which this was.
It took a few evenings to make the first dress, but I loved the style so much I decided to make another one. I'd been given mandors vouchers from my father in law for Christmas and so I got more jersey with it and set off making the eva dress. This time I got the cowl neck done properly and there is a much better finish all round. This is a heavier fabric than the first one and I think it works better in the heavier weight. The weight of this fabric and the fact it's much smoother didn't leave room for mistakes! It was much easier to work with than the thinner jersey and so I would recommend the heavier weight. This time it only took me an evening to cut the fabric and sew the dress because I'd already made the mistakes first time round.
It's a really good site giving a few free patterns and all of them have good instructions and pictures of the finished pieces. You just download the pattern and either print it on your A4 printer and put it together or print it at a larger paper size if you have the means.
This was the first time I'd made anything with a cowl neck so I didn't realise I should fold the top of piece one so the wrong sides were together and stitch it together at the seams. Saying that, the fabric I used means it still hangs like a cowl neck so I'm ok with that. I do however think that not having done this is the reason why the back neck facing was too long and is not finished well on my dress - the saving grace of having long hair that I always wear down is that it's not that noticeable! Both it is worth mentioning so others can learn from my mistakes! One thing that is great about this fabric is that because it's a creased fabric it helps to hide mistakes better.
This was my finished piece. I adjusted the length of the dress as I prefer dresses above the knee and I've cut the pattern shorter so that the next dress I made in this style was the shorter length. I find it easier if things are the correct length to start instead of having to shorten hems, especially when it's by a considerable amount which this was.
It took a few evenings to make the first dress, but I loved the style so much I decided to make another one. I'd been given mandors vouchers from my father in law for Christmas and so I got more jersey with it and set off making the eva dress. This time I got the cowl neck done properly and there is a much better finish all round. This is a heavier fabric than the first one and I think it works better in the heavier weight. The weight of this fabric and the fact it's much smoother didn't leave room for mistakes! It was much easier to work with than the thinner jersey and so I would recommend the heavier weight. This time it only took me an evening to cut the fabric and sew the dress because I'd already made the mistakes first time round.
This is definitely a dress I'd make again. The lack of zips or buttons mean it is definitely quick and easy. It's a great pattern in that the choice of fabric means that the two dresses don't exactly look like two of the same. You can even add to it if there was a plain fabric to give detail by sewing on buttons or bows. It's also a style that I really like to wear - the folds in the middle and the diagonal at the waist are really flattering!
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