The Summer Dress In Knit Fabric

“Can the Summer dress be made in knit fabric?”  This question was raised towards the end of testing and was such a great idea that I couldn’t resist trying.

You may have seen this fabric quite a lot in what I make.  It’s a cotton/spandex that I carry in my shop and it’s one of Emily’s favourites and choosing her favourite fabric means I know she’ll try it on for me!

I made this flamingo dress as a size 1 bodice and size 3 skirt and quickly saw where I needed to adjust.  The bodice could be a little tighter and the back skirt is a little too bulky around the waist for the knit fabric.  My next version was a much better fit. So what did I do?

Measuring a size 6, I sized down and made a size 5 dress with a size 6 length in the skirt.  I also cut off 1cm (3/8″) from the top of the straps to make them just a little bit tighter.  Being a knit fabric, you can afford to have the bodice area quite fitted as you have the stretch of the fabric when putting the dress on and taking it off.

I also used a stretch interfacing in the straps called Tricot Fusible which has a one way stretch to it, which is all I needed.  (It was also the only stretch interfacing my local fabric store had).  Being a tighter fit, there is going to more pulling and stretching of the straps so the interfacing will help the knit keep its shape.  I cut the interfacing for the straps with the direction of the stretch going across the body.

And lastly, I used my walking foot when sewing step 7 to evenly sew through all the varying thicknesses of the straps between the bodice pieces.

What other options could you use to make the Summer Dress?  Maybe woven fabric bodice and skirt and knit fabric for the straps?  Or a woven fabric skirt and knit fabric straps and bodice?  I would love to see what you come up with!