Sewing pattern mash-up!

Sewing pattern mash-up!

Sometimes, I’ll take two, three, even four sewing patterns to make up a particular garment. It cuts time from trying to freestyle it and you can get a custom fit by mixing the pattern size pieces. I saw a dress similar to this that Rihanna wore in the “Wild Thoughts” video (hers was turquoise) and knew it would be easy to make.

Pictured below are the two patterns that I combined. The yoke skirt pattern is from a now defunct fabric store called Hancock Fabrics (formerly Minnesota Fabrics) that I purchased back in 2005. AND it was on sale for .99! They don’t have sales like that on patterns anymore. Retail stores don’t have sales on much of anything like that anymore!

I used View B from the dress/top pattern and View E from the skirt pattern. My fabric is rayon and the only notions needed were thread and 1/4-inch-wide elastic. I finished up the core of the dress in a little under a couple hours. The elastic part I saved for while watching a movie.

I love how it turned out! Below are the accessories I paired with it. The earrings are from a custom jewelry maker I got at a craft show at Oakland Mall (when they had craft shows) years ago! The purse is a Steve Madden bag I’ve had for years as well. The sunglasses came from a beauty supply store. The bracelet is from a woman owned business called ClothandCord.com. They specialize in textile wearable art that embodies African and African American cultures.

Try mixing and matching patterns to achieve the look that you want! Happy Sewing!