For the first time in what feels like forever I cleared off my sewing table and worked on a garment sewing project. Honestly, I’ve felt burned out by quilting, so a break to do garment sewing is always a nice change of pace. I had the pleasure to work with Riley Blake Fabrics Designer Rayon, and today I’m going to share a bit more about the fabric and the dress I made with it. Plus, don’t miss my tips for sewing with rayon at the end of this post!
Riley Blake Fabrics Designer Rayon
This beautiful fabric is from the Whimsical Romance collection designed by Keera Job. It is 100% rayon challis and is lightweight (3.5 oz/yd²) with a super smooth hand. It has amazing fluid drape, making it perfect for flowing dresses.
One thing I LOVE about this fabric is that it is a full 57″/58″ width. Other fabric companies offer rayon, but they are often the same width as quilting cotton at only 42″ width. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make for garment sewing success since many garment patterns are written for a 57″-60″ width fabric.
Keera’s Whimsical Romance fabric collection offers her Freefly print in rayon in White, Mint, and Pine colorways. I selected the Mint colorway; fabric was originally intended to be here in June and that had influenced my choice of color.
Unfortunately, the fabric industry is no stranger to the supply chain issues the world is currently facing and the fabric did not make it to my door until the end of last month. Thankfully the rich jewel tones in the print offer up an earthy vibe perfect for the upcoming holiday season. When I showed my hubby the completed dress he asked, “Is this for Christmas?”
The Dress – By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress
Due to the lightweight nature of this fabric I knew I wanted to find a pattern that had lots of swish and femininity. Thankfully, the By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress pattern has been in my pattern library for almost a year, and it has been on my to-do list for the same amount of time but I never had the right fabric for the job. Until now obviously. 😉
“Hannah is the quintessential easy breezy wrap dress that can be as daytime casual or nighttime glamour as you want! With a sexy scoop wrap neckline, a gently gathered skirt and three unique sleeve options, you can have all the fun in the world coming up with your own drastically different variations. Best of all, this dress patterns has no zipper or lining so she can be whipped up in a matter of hours!” –BHL
My current measurements are as follows:
– chest: 37.5″
– waist: 30.5″
– hips: 42.5″
Based on these measurements I cut a US straight size 10 with no pattern grading. I could have done fit adjustments throughout the bodice, including shortening the rise, and making the wrap portion overall more form fitting. When thinking about when this dress will be worn, I know I will need to have room to move, you know #momlife. 😉 So a looser fit works perfectly for the life stage I currently occupy.
The one change I did make while constructing the dress was to omit the ties at the bishop sleeve cuff, and instead create an elastic casing. In doing so I was able to avoid making eyelet holes in the rayon, mainly because I couldn’t find my buttonhole foot anywhere. 😅 I love the way the elastic casing makes it easy to rollup the sleeves if needed.
Tips for Working with Rayon
Working with rayon fabric can be a bit of a challenge, especially if you are not familiar with it. As I tell my fellow quilters who want to try garment sewing, “You can do it. It’s not hard, just new.”
Here are a few ways to set yourself up for sewing with rayon success:
- Prewash your fabric. I normally never prewash quilting fabric, but if you are making garments it is a must!
- Cut very carefully, ideally with a rotary cutter. This allows the fabric to stay flat while cutting and not shift around like when cutting with scissors.
- Use a sharps/microtex needle. I like Schmetz 70/10 needles.
- Pin your pieces carefully prior to sewing. I obsessively pin. 😉
- If possible lower the pressure on your sewing machine’s presser foot. This, along with pinning, will help prevent shifting while sewing.
- Go slow. This is the most important tip. Getting a project done quickly is awesome, but not if it means mistakes and a date with your seam ripper.
I hope I have inspired you to try your hand at sewing with rayon. You can see all of the gorgeous Riley Blake Designer Rayon fabrics here. If you have any questions feel free to leave them down below, email me, or shoot me a DM on Instagram. 🙂
Happy Sewing!
