As promised, today I am back with a very simple hack for a Orla Dress. A sleeveless Orla is a logical next step in hacking this pattern. Going sleeveless makes for a wonderful summer dress if it is made out of lightweight fabric. At the same time it will be a great layering dress for colder months since you can easily throw a cardigan over it without bunching up the sleeves, or you can wear it over a blouse or turtleneck for a fun layered look.
I am not going to lie and pretend that I came up with this design. This dress is a direct rip off a dress I saw on Pinterest years ago and saved for future reference. When An Orla Affair came to be, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to finally make it.
My dress is made out of cotton satin with a very slight stretch. I had both white and black fabric in my stash for years. I bought it with a box pleat black and white striped skirt in mind. The skirt was never meant to be and this Orla was.
I have drafted both facings and pockets for this Orla, and also made modifications top the bodice to make it sleeveless. I also slightly modified the skirt to create irregular width stripes out of white and black fabric.
Because I used cotton satin, which was a little heavier, the gathers on the skirt made it a bit stiffer. And rather than allowing it to hang nicely the skirt is slightly, poof-ier. This is the effect that I wanted and I am really happy with it.
I think this would be a perfect dress for a summer wedding or any other dressier occasion. However, I don't want it to be an occasion only dress, so I will definitely be wearing it to work!
To learn how to draft facings for Orla go here.
To learn how to draft inseam pockets for Orla go here.
To learn how to modify bodice to make sleeveless Orla go here.
And finally to learn how I modified the skirt to make it striped go here.
Tomorrow I will be back with a super detailed sewing tutorial on how I put this whole thing together.
Until then,
Anya
I am not going to lie and pretend that I came up with this design. This dress is a direct rip off a dress I saw on Pinterest years ago and saved for future reference. When An Orla Affair came to be, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to finally make it.
My dress is made out of cotton satin with a very slight stretch. I had both white and black fabric in my stash for years. I bought it with a box pleat black and white striped skirt in mind. The skirt was never meant to be and this Orla was.
I have drafted both facings and pockets for this Orla, and also made modifications top the bodice to make it sleeveless. I also slightly modified the skirt to create irregular width stripes out of white and black fabric.
Because I used cotton satin, which was a little heavier, the gathers on the skirt made it a bit stiffer. And rather than allowing it to hang nicely the skirt is slightly, poof-ier. This is the effect that I wanted and I am really happy with it.
I think this would be a perfect dress for a summer wedding or any other dressier occasion. However, I don't want it to be an occasion only dress, so I will definitely be wearing it to work!
To learn how to draft facings for Orla go here.
To learn how to draft inseam pockets for Orla go here.
To learn how to modify bodice to make sleeveless Orla go here.
And finally to learn how I modified the skirt to make it striped go here.
Tomorrow I will be back with a super detailed sewing tutorial on how I put this whole thing together.
Until then,
Anya